Vuduin had quickly found his hotel room to his liking and taken a brief nap before 'going out on the town' as it were. He explored various stalls fascinated by the amount of effort put into this event. Vuduin even participated in several of the games and such, finding them to be rather enjoyable. He'd never been to a carnival before, though it had always sounded fun, the food in particular was of great interest of him. Even though his sense of taste had become diluted after his transformation he still found it interesting. Of course he usually ate bread, some sort of soup, or other simple meals.

Vuduin's outfit usually served to keep people away from him in the small towns he tended to frequent, but here it was merely a cause for attention. Several times he found himself fleeing from large groups of people by phasing through walls, though this only seemed to invigorate their efforts to chase him. Vuduin took a deep breath to relax having just escaped when he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his cell phone ringing. He'd gotten it because he'd needed it for a job once and had never really used it much. He saw a short message was left on it, an invitation to some sort of dinner. Vuduin noted he was only a few blocks away from the restaurant. It appeared to be rather fancy, in fact upon double checking the message it was apparently a 'black tie' event. Vuduin looked at his outfit, technically it was black. Not really a tie.

Maybe avatars got an exception, Vuduin certainly wasn't eager to buy an expensive and uncomfortable suit, though he might've been able to use his VIP card to get one. It seemed the reckless Rayquaza and the Giritina were already waiting outside. After checking to make sure there was no one else to mob him Vuduin make his way to the entrance. "I assume we are waiting here till we all arrive, then heading inside?" Vuduin asked. Hopefully tonight would be less... confrontational. At least the food should be nice and as a bonus it wouldn't come out of his own pocket.

Seras lounged across the luxurious hotel bed, eyes closed contentedly while Charity braided her hair. She’d never found the knack for styling her hair into anything but tangles, while Charity made it seem almost unfairly easy with her telekinesis. Although she’d objected to her intervention once - long ago - the feeling of intangible hands gently running through her hair was far too soothing to turn down. Besides, Charity would probably have a fit if she couldn’t play with her favourite doll.

“And with that, he sincerely apologised for his actions and left,” Seras concluded. “It sounded as though he was overwhelmed by what he’d been through.”

Charity’s voice echoed in her mind, gentler than usual. “And you can empathise with that?”

Seras shrugged. “A little bit,” she admitted. “I don’t know much about Giratina and even less about Germaines as an avatar, but I doubt that someone malicious would thank you for cooling things down. It paints most of the myths in a very different light.” She gazed vacantly at the wall for several moments until a light touch on her shoulder dragged her into the present.

“Tell me what you think,” Charity said proudly.

Heart fluttering slightly, Seras rose to her feet and inspected herself in the hotel mirror. She never had enough chances to wear formal dress - not on the road between towns and never when selling her gems at the market without coming across as pretentious - but each memory of those chances would last for a lifetime.

The long purple gown clung to her waist, shapely and flattering around her torso while flowing loosely around her legs for ease of movement. Around her neck lay a thin silver necklace set with one of her gemstones, matched by a pair of dainty earrings. With the gentlest brush of her power, the gemstones shimmered and flickered like candles, casting her face and neck in a cherry-pink glow. She twisted her shoulder towards the mirror - savouring the powerful sweep of the gown’s heavy fabric - and admired the braid that hung down her back like an ornament.

Hello, me. Where’ve you been hiding all this time?

Charity let out a surprised squeak as Seras wrapped her in a bone-breaking hug. “You know that it’s perfect.”

That was the other reason why Charity had started braiding her hair - she understood how much it hurt that she’d never been taught how to braid it herself. It was a bonding experience now.

Seras reluctantly let go, watching Charity smile to herself as she wiped tears from her ruby-red eyes. Charity wore a matching purple scarf that looped around her neck and hung from each shoulder, studded with bead-sized gemstones along the hem that flickered and shone like a trail of fire in time with Seras’ own diamonds. Just creating gemstones that small had been a nightmare as of itself, but the result was magnificent. The outfits had been one of their first leisure purchases after her reputation as an artist began spreading, and in her eyes, they were worth every second that it took to earn them.

As they left the hotel and wandered through the crowded streets, elbows linked together, Charity continued to interrogate her. “Are you sure that you should act so trustingly towards him, though? He may not mean to cause people harm, and even regret that he’s done so, but that doesn’t mean that he can control his actions entirely.”

Seras shook her head stubbornly. “If anything, that’s exactly why he needs someone who feels comfortable around him. Everyone treating him like a Voltorb is only going to alienate him further, and he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way. Human, Pokemon or anything in-between - people need to support him through those experiences.” A trace of frustration crept into her voice. “Nothing changes for the better unless somebody’s willing to take a chance.”

Outside of their mental link, Charity sighed deeply. “I understand your feelings, Seras, but I worry for you all the same. I’ll be watching Germaines closely this evening, if only so you don’t need to watch him yourself.”

Restraining the urge to roll her eyes, Seras hugged Charity’s arm. “Yes, mother dear.”

As the crowd thinned near the entrance to the Ritzy Raichu, Seras recognised an old face and smiled broadly. Oh, this evening is going to be marvellous. It had been almost a year since she’d seen the mayor last - the commission from the busts of his family had helped to finance her gown - but the man’s infectious warmth hadn’t changed in the least. “Good evening, mayor,” she greeted fondly. “I hope that you’re well?”

She nodded politely towards the rest of the avatars, but her eyes caught on the adorable young Kirlia standing besides Germaines, adorned with a pair of crimson bows. Awwwww. “You’re looking wonderful tonight, dear,” she projected kindly towards the Kirlia, offering her a gentle smile.

She projected a rather less composed message towards Charity. “Isn’t she just the sweetest thing in the world?” Charity grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Never better!" Mayor Mayer enthused, grinning warmly at Seras. "And I dearly hope the same for you, miss. I'm pleased to see the crown jewel of Kalos here." The brown-haired man looked around, waved at some other people standing nearby who might be avatars, and turned back to Seras with an ever-so-slight frown.

"We'll have to wait a bit to see if anyone else shows up," he added. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but the last thing I want is to leave anyone out."

Meanwhile, Porygon-Z eagerly zoomed toward the three avatars it had met earlier. It turned around and gave its trainer an exasperated look, as if the woman's calm pace was much too slow for this exciting event. The Pokemon seemed to decide that spinning its head in circles would help it release its energy until its trainer arrived.

"Welcome to the avatars' dinner with the mayor," Porygon-Z droned. It turned to the thin woman, who looked at the avatars with a mildly interested expression. "I now introduce friends Wells, Germaine, and Vuduin to master Justine."

"Justine Huang," the woman elaborated in a clear, precise voice. Many residents of Hoenn would recognize that name as the founder and CEO of Porytech, one of the world's leading technology corporations. The woman extended a slim hand to Wells, who happened to be the closest.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Justine continued. "I hope you are pleased with this festival in your honor."

Wells kept his hands by his legs. He merely looked at Justine's hands, and quickly realized that this would become a quite uncomfortable situation. Again, he somewhat regretted being underdressed, as it made it him fit even more poorly among the formally clothed group. Thoughts raced through his mind, before he took a step back and waited to see the fallout. And then he realized how little he liked formal introductions. Maybe that was his real reason for taking a step back? He tried to think of something to say, but every thought seemed to make the situation even more awkward. In the end, Wells simply waited. It was inevitable for the stale silence to be broken by someone more skilled at doing so.

Germaine wasn't standing outside alone with Well's for too long, thankfully, as a thick silence existed between the pair. It was broken by the avatar of Darkrai the man whom had stood by his side during the heated argument earlier that day, Kirlia give Germaines leg a nudge with her elbow, just to ensure he didn't make an attempt to attack Wells with his back-up whilst they were alone, he knew that's why she did it and it earned her a dark scowl; which was met with an innocent smile.

"Good evening Vuduin, looking forward to dinner?" Germaine asked with a rather elated tone, it was probably because he himself was practically giddy over, he only ever turned childish once on an occasion, and that was when he tried new food.

Vuduin didn't get the chance to reply straight away however as another avatar turned up - this time it was Seras; accompanied with her Pokémon - a Gardevoir as he could only assume; the evolution of Kirlia.
She gave the Mayor a warm greeting, it appeared that they knew each other before tonight.
Both Seras and Gardevoir looked very appropriately dressed for the occasion; unlike Wells and Vuduin, however formal events weren't everyone's cup of tea, and of course the clothes to match weren't exactly cheap.

Germaine looked at Seras and she gave a nod of the head as her greeting, he took this chance to inspect what she really looked like, his perception of her was a bit clouded during the argument...
It had to be said that she was indeed beautiful; appropriate given that Diancie is regarded as the "Jewel of Kalos" one of the greatest beauty's in the world; whilst the term was relative it is rarely disputed in this case.
Germaine then turned to look at her Pokémon who was at her side, he was almost startled to see that she was gazing... no.
Peering into his eyes, as if she was searching for something, after a a few seconds she blinked and looked away.

"Odd..."

Germaine was interrupted from his thoughts however when Seras gave Kirlia a complement on her looks - probably in reference to the bows.
Kirlia was positively elated to receive the complement, and due to the fact that she shared the same type as Diancie she communicated her thoughts to Seras in reply.

" Thank you! You and Gardevoir look startling tonight as well."
Germiane couldn't hear what she was saying telepathically but the brimming smile on her face effectively gave away her evident joy, Germaine gave a slight smile at the sight of her joy.

" Also, I wanted to thank you for stopping this idiot from killing Rayquaza... I try my hardest to talk some sense into him, sometimes I get through... but he's got a thick skull from all that time away from the world."

Kirlia looked up at Germaine with her face now holding a solemn look upon it; Germaine knew fine well that she was worried about him; he could never fathom why though.
In order to break Kirlia from her silly mood he spoke "Was the remainder of your day... erm... less eventful than the morning?"

Once again a further interruption prevented an answer straight away as the trio witnessed Wells shy away from a handshake from a thin woman.
She was in formal wear as well, although it seemed more like something a female would wear in an office.
Her name was Justine Huang, and now the thin woman with a stern demeanour brought herself to the forefront of Germaines memory- she was the CEO of the tech group that funded this event.
PORYTECH or something like that.

Admittedly he didn't blame Wells from shying away from this woman, she looked like the type that would spill your guts for scientific advancement, Cyrus... just the female version.
Immediately Germaine formed a negative impression of her, but took the hand Wells had left empty and gave it a firm shake, her grip was strong, steely much like the air she gave off.
"A pleasure."
The only response he gave her, with his featureless calm face accompanying it- a CEO like her could gain a lot of someone's thoughts from a mere involuntary twitch in your facial muscles.

Germaine turned his back to her and looked towards Seras again, awaiting a response.

“Hmm, no, sorry Miss. If you’d have come a few days ago, we’d have had something, but right now we’ve got as many people as we can handle.”

Rebeca’s shoulders slumped as she sighed. The shopkeeper’s answer was nearly identical to the two dozen others she had received since arriving at Mauville City for this so-called Avatar Festival. She had only heard about it a month before when she had finally emerged from hiking in the Meteor Mountains. Both she and Mihkail had agreed that a large festival meant that a lot of shops and such would need temporary workers to help manage the demand for goods, and there were a few supplies that they needed to stock up on. Plus, it had been months since she had last been in an actual city. In fact, probably not since she had first arrived in Hoenn. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to be around people for once?

Turning, she pushed her hands into her pockets and started back down the main avenue. Unfortunately, she had only just arrived that morning, and thus far had had no luck finding anything she could do. Everyone had already been hired in advance, they said. At this rate, she was either going to have to deal with her worn-out boots and tent, or she would have to resort to pulling gold out of the ground again.

Maya shifted her position beneath Rebeca’s shirt, and she smiled, ducking her head to nuzzle her chin against the Shellfish Pokemon’s shell. She didn’t technically have to work, gold was something that people always accepted once they were assured that it was real, but they tended to wonder just where she had gotten it from, and questions were one thing she tried to avoid. It was irritating. Besides, extracting the stuff from the planet’s mantle was hard and took hours of effort just to obtain a small amount, leaving her exhausted and in need of food and a nap. It was a lot simpler to just suck it up, make her way to a city or port, and find some temporary work that paid.

Up ahead, she spied the small candy stand that Mihkail was snoozing in the shade of. Well, still no luck.

The Rhyhorn snorted, and he lazily opened his eyes to glance in her direction before closing them again, nowhere near close to being asleep. I told you we should have taken a bus to get here.

Rebeca rolled her eyes as she reached the stand and sat down beside him. Yeah, yeah, I know. And you know why we didn’t.

You’re a cheapskate who’s afraid to take a nap along the way?

Shut up. She elbowed Mihkail in the ribs as she grinned, and the Spikes Pokemon snorted in response. I enjoy a good nap almost as much as you do. But you try paying a bus driver with a lump of gold, and see what happens.

Mihkail opened his eyes, momentarily shifting himself into a more comfortable position as he watched the crowd. I know exactly what will happen. I’ll get a pat on the head, a “good boy”, and a free bus ride. It’s the advantage of having a cute face like mine.

Now it was Rebeca’s turn to snort. Cute, sure. You'd probably wreck the entire bus just trying to get inside, and your face looks like a boulder.

And it’s a very cute boulder. All the ladies say so.

Rebeca burst out laughing, and while Mihkail simply snorted again, she could definitely tell that he was laughing at his own joke. Maya, on the other hand, began squirming in protest, and Rebeca began stroking her shell soothingly. “Shh, shh, it’s okay. Mihkail just thinks he’s clever.” The fossil settled, contented with the explanation. As Rebeca closed her eyes, she suspected that she was getting a few odd looks for apparently running her hand down her chest, but she didn’t much care about that. If people just thought she was weird, that was their choice, and anyone who came close enough would plainly see that there was something underneath. If anyone asked, she would just leave.

-

A growing commotion from the crowd disturbed Rebeca from her slumber, and she glanced around. A lot of people were talking excitedly to one another. Huh. Wonder what has them all riled up.

Mihkail opened his eyes and raised his head. Dunno. It’s got the Pokemon interested too. He rose to his paws and shook himself. You should go check it out.

Rebeca glanced at her brother, who returned the gaze with an expectant look. Finally she sighed and pushed herself up, causing Maya to squirm again. Oh, alright, fine. She wandered through the crowd of people, trying to listen in on the conversations around her, but could only catch bits and pieces. Finally, she resigned herself to the fact and tapped a slightly older man on the shoulder. “Hey, excuse me. What’s got everyone so excited?”

The man looked confused for a moment, then broke into an excited grin. “Awe, you must have just missed it. Some of the avatars are actually here!”

Rebeca blinked. Avatars? How much candy has this guy been eating?

Seeing her blank look, the man frowned. “Wait, you haven’t heard of them? You been living under a rock or something?”

Depends on your definition of “rock”, “living”, and “under”.

Shut up. Rebeca shook her head. “Um, no, sorry. I just, didn’t think they were actually real, you know?”

Smooth recovery.

Shut up.

The man chuckled and clapped her on the shoulder. “Oh, they’re real alright. Hell, two of them just about had a fight right outside the administrative building. Can’t wait to see what the tournament will look like!” He suddenly frowned. “Say, you seem really warm. Are you alright?”

Rebeca immediately began backpedaling mentally. Crap. “Um, yeah. Now that you mention it, it is kinda warm. Think I might have been sleeping in the sun too long. The administrative building, right?”

He nodded, concern etched on his face. “That’s right. Should I come with you? I don’t want you suddenly passing out.”

She raised her hands as she started backing away. “No, no, that’s alright. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Probably just need some water, done a lot of walking today. Thanks,” she called out behind her as an afterthought.

Following at her heels as she pushed through the crowd, Mihkail sighed. Wonderful job back there. Really charmed him with your winning personality.

Fuck off Mihkail. Rebeca frowned as she thought about the man’s words. What’s with these “avatars” he was talking about? What’d he mean?

Mihkail blew a short gust of air. Well, given that this is the “Interregional Avatar Festival”, I suspect that they are the people being celebrated.

That’s nice, but who the fuck are the-

She was interrupted by a sudden pressure in the air, causing both of them to stop. “What the hell…” Up ahead, she could see the crowd spreading apart, making a clearing of some kind. The pair glanced at each other, and then Rebeca began urgently pushing through the crowd, Maya squeezing her legs around her torso as she clicked fearfully. She was just about to the edge, where she could catch a glimpse of the inky black circle that covered the ground, when an ear-splitting scream tore through the air, causing everyone to duck. Well, almost everyone. Rebeca did flinch, but she was more interested in the pair of red eyes at the center of the circle. It wasn’t the first time she heard such a loud sound, though this one was quite a bit different than those she had heard before. As she watched, a youngish-looking man with white hair and wearing dress clothes emerged from the black circle, which faded away. He bowed, calling out with a clear voice. “I’m Germaine, or Giratina. A pleasure to be here.”

At Rebeca’s feet, Mihkail growled quietly as he tried to see through the forest of bent legs. I could be wrong, but I would suspect that that is one of these avatars. Pretty impressive.

He’s an attention-grabbing prick. Rebeca scowled at the back of the man’s head as the crowd around her started rising, placing her hand on Maya’s shell to reassure her. The hell was the point of that show other than to-

Mihkail nudged her leg with his nose. Hang on, who’s this now. A younger looking man with green hair, black vest and casual pants had emerged from the crowd. Rebeca squinted at him. She could swear that he was familiar, but couldn’t place where she knew him from. Wherever it was, the thought was making her markings itch.

The two men seemed to be having a debate of some kind, the younger one swaggering like a Prinplup looking to throw its weight around, when a third man drifted out of the crowd to stand beside the first, then a fourth to the second. The air grew increasingly tense as they began arguing, over what Rebeca couldn’t quite hear. It didn’t really matter, she had seen a situation like this before, two Lairon sizing each other up before fighting over a pool of spring water. The breaking point seemed to be when a Porygon-Z zipped into the middle, and the first two men each attacked it. “Dammit, you idiots,” Rebeca muttered as she prepared to push her way inside, “you don't pull this kind of crap in the middle of a city full of people!”

She stopped when she saw that someone else seemed to have the same idea. A young girl, couldn’t be much older than herself, emerged from the crowd. She was pretty, very pretty, with long pink hair and an elegant looking dress. A pink light seemed to shine around her, and for a moment Rebeca was stumped just from looking at her. The others seemed to listen to her, and she was soon joined by another young man in robes of blue, green and purple. He would chime in occasionally, but otherwise no one interrupted the girl as she spoke.

After a moment, the group dispersed, and a Kirlia appeared to heal the damaged Porygon-Z. Rebeca breathed a quiet sigh of relief, and drifted back into the crowd.

Trotting along behind her, Mihkail glanced up at her back. So.

She briefly glanced over her shoulder. So, what?

So, are you going to go meet them?

Why would I do that?

Mihkail rolled his eyes. Because they seem to be like you? Have powers like you do? I would think this would be a no brainer.

Rebeca sighed. Suppose for a second that I do want to meet them. She stopped and gave the Rhyhorn a quick glare before continuing. And I’m not saying that I do. We don’t even know if they’re legit.

They’re legitimate. Mihkail huffed at her. They smell different.

Now it was Rebeca’s turn to roll her eyes. Really. And how do they smell different.

Not human. The Spikes Pokemon glanced in the direction that the avatars had drifted towards. But, not Pokemon either. Kind of like you.

Rebeca stopped and glared at her brother again, and he huffed again. Don’t look at me like that. All these humans smell different, but there’s certain things about them that are similar. Same with Pokemon, they all have similarities that make them what they are. You’re too different from either of them to belong. You’re closer to those avatars than these humans. He growled softly. And don’t tell me you didn’t see what they did to that Porygon-Z. No human is able to do that.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Rebeca knew he had a point. For two years she hadn’t even heard of anyone being remotely like herself. Not human, not Pokemon, stuck somewhere in between. And just how do you suggest I meet them?

Mihkail hurried past her, then stopped and sat down in front of one of the posters scattered that had been scattered around the city. This.

Frowning, Rebeca stopped and read the poster, then scowled. It was advertising the “Tournament of Legends”, probably what the man she had spoken to before had mentioned. “Hell. No.”

Seras beamed gleefully at Kirlia’s exuberant joy. Easily the sweetest thing in the world, bar none. “Thank you very much,” she projected fondly. “I’m Seras and this is my close friend Charity - it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Charity bobbed in a small curtsey, her face softened by a nostalgic smile as she watched Kirlia glow with pride. She’d been adorable at that age as well.

“And you’re more than welcome for the help, Kirlia. It wasn’t entirely his fault, although I hope that you’ll remind him about what happened if he tries something foolish again.” As Kirlia glanced solemnly towards Germaines, Seras added a gentle tone of comfort to her voice. “Germaine’s lucky to have someone like you looking after him.”

She heard Germaine cough politely before he spoke.

“Was the remainder of your day… erm… less eventful than the morning?”

With an embarrassed flush, Seras realised that her conversation with Kirlia had been entirely non-verbal. Jeez, I must look like an pantomime clown. Chatting with another person’s Pokemon would take some getting used to. She turned her attention towards Germaine, offering him an apologetic smile for her rudeness. “Just as eventful, I’m afraid, but far more relaxing all the same. I’ve been selling statuettes in the main plaza - there’s no end to the tourists who love them, and once you’ve already said yes to one person, it’s hard to say no to the second.” She chuckled ruefully. “Or the twentieth. Charity here dragged me away so that we’d have time to get ready before our dinner tonight.”

There’s a thought. Seras glanced down at Kirlia sympathetically - she’d recognised that sober expression. Charity gave her that look on more occasions than she was entirely comfortable with. And someone so young, as well. Allowing the gemstones in their outfits to dim for a moment, Seras conjured a fist-sized diamond from the air. Truth be told, she had no idea how to reflect Germaine in a sculpture - would he prefer to be shown as content or dour? - but the gift was for Kirlia as much as Germaine regardless.

Rather than sculpting the pair of them together, she produced a statuette of Kirlia as she’d been only moments before, radiating with boundless pride and elation with those adorable bows wrapped around her horns. Expressions like those were how she’d found her current occupation in the first place - sculpting on its own could pay the bills, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near as rewarding without people like Kirlia to appreciate them. That sort of happiness was infectious.

“Consider this a homecoming gift to share with Kirlia. I wouldn’t dream of charging another avatar - our gifts are to share freely amongst each other.” She crouched down and handed the sculpture to Kirlia. “You keep smiling, okay? Germaines has good company for tonight, yourself included.”

Returning to her feet, Seras linked arms with Charity again and turned her attention to the avatar clad in black - the one without a matching tie. She recognised him from the escapade during registration, and while his outward appearance was somewhat intimidating, the mild manners which he’d displayed during the confrontation set her mind at ease. He reminded her of the Ursarings that she'd seen once in the Safari Zone - confident enough to lack any real need to prove himself. She offered a hand towards him courteously, lest the stone-faced Justine take any issue with her manners. Now there’s a woman I feel less than comfortable around.

“I don’t believe that we’ve had the pleasure,” she said politely. “My name’s Seras - I’m a travelling artist and avatar of Diancie. Normally in that order, but today seems to be a day for exceptions.” She offered him a warm smile, hoping to break the man’s humourless expression. “I trust that you’ve had a pleasant day as well?”

No.

Rebeca.

No.

Rebeca, stop.

No. Rebeca tried very hard to ignore Mihkail’s insistent voice in her head as she pushed through crowd, the Rhyhorn following along behind her.

Rebeca, you’re being childish.

She whirled around, glaring at her brother. No, I am not. And I am not signing up for any stupid tournament with a bunch of attention seekers, now drop it Mihkail.

Mihkail growled in irritation. Fine. At least go up and see if they maybe have an opening. You never know. They could use extra help with security or something.

Rebeca’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. If this is a trick to get me to sign up…

Have I ever?

Yes.

Mihkail blinked. In anything other than food.

…No.

Well there you go. Besides, you thanked me after that time.

Rebeca gave the Rhyhorn a dark look as she turned and headed towards the administration desks, but even so she couldn’t help smiling just a little. I also spent the rest of that day squatting over a bush, so screw you.

A soft rumble like laughter issued from Mihkail’s throat as he followed her. That was your own fault. I didn’t tell you to eat all of it at once.

The pair made their way to the administration desk, and Rebeca caught the attention of one of the men sitting there. “Ah, are you here to register?” He glanced at the black lines running down her arms and up the sides of her neck. “Let me guess, you’re supposed to be Groudon?” He chuckled. “Normally Ms. Huang’s Porygon-Z is here to verify avatar identities, but they’re both currently with the other confirmed avatars. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait.”

Rebeca blinked, then shook her head. “Um, no. I just wanted to ask if there was any temp work or something that I could do.” She gestured to her arms. “These are just tattoos.”

“Oh.” The man blinked in surprise, then shrugged. “I’m sorry, it’s just that we’ve had five other people here today claiming to be the avatar for Groudon. Can you believe that? After the first three, you start getting skeptical.”

Rebeca grinned nervously, scratching at her arm. “Yeah, crazy. Guess some people will do just about anything to be famous.”

He squinted at her markings. “Though, I have to admit, those look pretty convincing. Must have been painful to have done, especially on the neck and elbows there.”

Well isn’t he an observant fellow.

Shut up. Shifting her weight back and forth, Rebeca glanced towards the crowd, some of whom were starting to give curious looks her way. “Um, is there anything I can do? I don’t exactly want people thinking I’m something I’m not.”

The man nodded. “Fair enough. Unfortunately,” he glanced around, his brow creased slightly, “I don’t think there’s anything we really need right now. Maybe when the festival is over, but we’re pretty solidly set up at the moment.” He smiled apologetically. “Sorry.”

Rebeca’s shoulders slumped, though whether it was in disappointment at striking out yet again or relief that he wasn’t pushing the subject, she couldn’t decide. “That’s alright. Thanks anyways.”

She was starting to make her way back into the crowd, Mihkail forging a path like a boat prow, when the man called out, “Hey! Wait a sec.” She froze, eyes flicking about the crowd. More people were looking her way, some of them starting to whisper and mutter between themselves.

Calm down, Rebeca. Just see what he wants.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around and faced the man as he approached her. “Sorry. You might want to try at the Ritzy Raichu, in the hotel just up the way.” He gestured further up the avenue. “I’m sure they could probably use another dishwasher or server, or something. If you’re interested.”

Rebeca released a pent-up breath. “Uh, sure, thanks.”

He grinned at her. “No problem.” He turned and waved to the whispering crowd. “Sorry folks, just somebody asking for directions!” He gave Rebeca a final wave as the attention almost immediately dispersed. “Enjoy the festival.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you too,” and turned in the direction indicated.

Behind her, Mihkail snorted. You totally thought he was going to out you.

Mihkail, so help me, I will kick you.

You did that once. It didn’t work so well.

-

The distance to the hotel wasn’t too far, even with the crowd, and there was a helpful map inside the hotel’s lobby that gave her the restaurant’s location. When she finally found it, however, she stopped cold. Sonuvabitch!

Mihkail growled questioningly at her outburst, then looked towards the restaurant. Okay, props to the human, that was clever.

Rebeca gritted her teeth. Mihkail, I am going to murder you.

Hey, you can’t pin this one on me. I had nothing to do with it.

You sent me up to that desk in the first place!

Gathered in front of the restaurant’s entrance were a few of the avatars from earlier, what looked like the mayor of Mauville City, given the large sash that he wore, a stern looking woman in a grey business suit, and what was probably the same Porygon-Z that had identified each of the avatars. Cursing under her breath, Rebeca spun on her heel and started walking back towards the hotel entrance.

Justine frowned slightly when Wells rejected her handshake. The CEO was not accustomed to being ignored. However, she soon resumed her typical neutral, observant expression and watched the avatars talk amongst each other. She didn't come here to be the center of attention. This festival was for the avatars, and she was practically in the presence of gods.

Mayor Mayer joined the group, content to give his hardworking mouth a rest and listen to the avatars' conversation. He watched the avatars with awe and delight, as if he was witnessing a Caterpie evolve into a Dragonite.

Without warning, Porygon-Z let out a grating beep and zoomed into the restaurant. A few clangs and yelps could be heard from inside, and an increasing look of dread disturbed Justine's placid expression. The pink Pokemon zipped out again just as suddenly, holding a fire extinguisher in its hands. Porygon-Z zoomed down the street toward a teenage girl.

"Porygon-Z!" Justine exclaimed, running as fast as her heels would allow. "Don't-"

But it was too late. Porygon-Z sheared off the top of the fire extinguisher with its Psybeam and sprayed the bitter-cold foam all over Rebeca.

Dead silence filled the air as Rebeca stood stock still. Thick layers of foam covered her backpack, arms, legs and the back of her head, though her front side was relatively clear. The edge of the foam began to steam and hiss, crumbling into burnt matter where it came in contact with her skin.

The first thing to break the silence was a deep rumbling growl that came in pulses from Mihkail’s open mouth, his fangs stark white in the light. A matching sound rang in her head as the Spike Pokemon uproariously processed the situation. Turning slightly to glare at her brother, she started wiping the foam off her arms, releasing more wisps of steam into the air.

Completing her turn, sure enough, everyone was staring at her. Both the women and the Mayor had their hands covering their mouths, the green-haired man was clearly trying and failing to contain his own laughter, while the others simply stared in abject confusion. Rebeca’s gaze shifted to the Porygon-Z, who was still holding the now useless fire extinguisher, head jittering and shuddering, then she focused down on the woman in the business suit.

“Yours?” Rebeca’s voice was deadly quiet as she reached up and pulled a glob of foam free from her hair, slinging it from her gloved hand to the floor with a wet ‘splat’.

"I am SO sorry, miss," the mortified woman managed to choke out, jogging the rest of the way to Rebeca. "I thought I worked out its glitches, but all this excitement has-- Don't even think about moving, Porygon-Z!"

The pink Pokemon had started hovering around Rebeca, but it stopped at its trainer's snapping command and gave her a sheepish look, like the look of a child who had been caught breaking its parent's belongings.

"What did I tell you about fire extinguishers?" Justine asked in a stern tone.

"My data banks indicate that fire extinguishers are an emergency device to be used when temperatures over three hundred degrees are detected in abnormal locations," Porygon-Z explained. "This human's internal temperature is 302.84 degrees and rising."

Justine blinked in astonishment, then peered at Rebeca. Porygon-Z's behavior might be eccentric, but its readings were always accurate.

Whimsically did Hope's legs kick the air beneath her, as she sat upon the balcony of a condominium, looking over the indoor complex with fond eyes. Her arms both formed a v shape and held her posture up, placed between her thighs as she hunched over to gaze at her prey. A game of cat and mouse had roused her muse, and for once she found her target to be far more slippery than any other before him. His attire was outlandish, however the dead giveaway was his ability to pass through the corporeal. A voice in the back of Hope's mind, the remnants of Hoopa's will had already stated the obvious, 'that's Darkrai,' and what an interesting fellow he was; now how long would it take him to realize he had a stalker? Hope giggled a bit, feeling victorious until caught.

"H-hey! Who are you?! What are you doing on my balcony?!" An angered civilian would begin shouting, upon finding the strange woman trespassing; he'd continue to banter for a moment about respecting personal space, but he dared turn his vision from the psychic ever so briefly. A giggle echoed in his mind, and before he could snap at her about it not being funny, she was gone.

"Now where'd that boy run off to?" Hope spoke aloud, whilst tapping her chin a few times to refresh her memory. "I mean, dressed like that, he shouldn't be so hard to spot." She'd hypocritically mumble, forgetting how unorthodox her gypsy gown must appear to all these modern inner city civilians; then again, the colours of the city really began to distract her at this point. The amount of Pokemon cosplayers wandering the streets baffled her, were they avatars as well? An individual dressed almost identically to that Darkrai avatar almost lured her astray. Hope began to clench her head, it throbbed in the presence of too many people, as she tried to sift through all the thoughts with her psychic powers, it only served to merit a migraine. A peanut gallery formed underneath the lamp post that Hope appeared on top of, after a young boy pointed her out; she scanned through them quickly, but not a single one of them had a strong enough mental barrier to intrigue her. Merely observing from the sidelines was hardly thrilling, or satiating of a trickster's amusement. Hope had been trailing Darkrai's avatar for a couple days now, curious to why such a dark and mysterious person would have any interest in the limelight of a carnival. Her psychic powers eventually caught wind of several powerful beings gathering together nearby, and her eyes locked in on a restaurant, the Ritzy Raichu. Lo' and behold, there was Darkrai's avatar, and with him stood several other interesting characters, each holding a powerful mental fortitude, and an aura of mythic power. The other avatars? "Oh how fun!" A devilish grin curved across Hope's face, but she remained discrete for now, contemplating her introduction. No matter what, it had to be... astonishing! She stood upright now, her legs tightly paired, and her feet barely barely stable upon the lamp.

By now, Hope noticed how big the crowd of people was, many of them obvious pokemaniacs, and she could guess the ones waving and calling out Hoopa's name were likely the welcoming committee she read up about. They wanted proof, and Hope liked showing off. "Oh? Hehehehe, come now, didn't your mothers ever teach you, it's rude to stare!" Hope jibed, whilst placing a hand on her hip, and giving the crowd a haughty glare. "How about we all play a game of hide and seek, mmmm? Catch me if you can!" She'd challenge the entire crowd, and blow a kiss in the direction of the youngster who first spotted her. Next thing they knew, she threw one of her hoops over her head, and made her outtro. In a puff of smoke, Hope disappeared.

Time lapsed for the magician as if in a dream, where walking between destinations was never really a thing. Next, a slight commotion would be caused within the Ritzy Raichu's kitchen, where the gypsy decided to relocate herself. "It smells absolutely lovely in here!" She'd chime in, catching the attention of a chef in the process.

"Hey! This area is restricted to staff only! Uh... unless... are you one of the avatars?" The chef, half irritated, half enticed by the festivities, attempted to interrogate Hope. To his dismay, she'd use him as the catalyst of her prank.

"Well of course! Have you eyes? Behold my magnificence!" She'd demand, whilst snapping her fingers loudly. Seconds later, the chef would yelp, "Hot, hot!" before ripping off his hat to find a freshly baked quiche inside of it. "Amazing, I know. I've come to... uhh... save you some effort. You see, I've been traveling with the other avatars for a little while now..." Hope, who was now in control of the situation, brushed past the confused chef and scanned about the kitchen whilst speaking, multi-tasking hidden motives, not a single chef would notice what she did until it was too late. "And as you know, mythical pokemon can be very dangerous. Messing up their dishes even slightly could turn disastrous for your careers! So, I've come to... help. The most dangerous of my dear friends is Darkrai, you'll notice him right off the bat. He's had some very low blood sugar lately, so... I've come to relay a message from him. He would like extra sugar, at least an extra 3 pinches, in whatever he orders." By the time she was done lying, Hope had caught the attention of the entire kitchen staff, few of them paid enough attention to their duties, and not one noticed how Hope telekinetically mixed copious amounts of salt in to all the sugar shakers. "But... alas! It's up to you, if you believe me or not... I'm but only a psychic. Your lives and careers are none of my concern, really. This is a five star restaurant, right? Shame on me for telling you all how to do your jobs! Oh, but personally I have only one request... don't you dare taste any of the foods you make for us! I don't want a single germ off your hands to touch my lips! Ick!" Once her job was done, and the staff properly warned, she'd retreat to her shadows; a tactical means of showing off her power, and enforcing belief in her claims. "Ta ta!" She'd play coy, giggling before disappearing again in a puff of smoke. The entire kitchen staff would gossip among one another after such a strange incident, before returning to their duties.

Hope would reappear in the woman's washroom afterwards, and try her best not to break out laughing. They fell for it! She could read their minds with ease. She could hardly wait, she was giddy to see Darkrai's handsome face get sucked in to his mouth the minute he tastes his meal. For now, she prepped herself in front of the mirror and waited for the others to enter the restaurant.

"Of course, I usually don't have the opportunity to eat rich so this should be pleasant considering the appearance of the restaurant." Vuduin said in response to Germaine's question. Then the Diance, Seras, arrived as well. From the head nodding and small gestures of the Seras and Kirlia they were discussing something but Germaine seemed to cut them off with his next statement, then proceed to save the apparently socially awkward Wells from the terror of handshake. He could play hero and try to start a fight but not accept a handshake? Interesting. Then the girl Seras introduced herself, it seemed Vuduin had remembered her name correctly.

He shook her hand, exerting force just slightly less than her own as was polite. "Avatar of darkrai, Vuduin, usually in the other order myself." he commented, replying to the girl in kind. "Besides having to elude some fans the festival has been enjoyable so far. Not sure I managed to shake all of them off." Vuduin explained calmly, a slight uplifting of his mouth at the top right corner.Seras seemed to be rather pleasant and though her outfit was quite showy it was appropriate considering the circumstances. At least it seemed tonight would be more peaceful than earlier today, perhaps Seras wouldn't have to try to be a peacemaker again. However this thought was disturbed by the Porygon grabbing a fire extinguisher and liberally dosing a random girl. Perhaps not a random girl, guessing by the foam becoming scorched and crumbling to ash."Here let me help you with that." Vuduin said as he took a few steps closer.

He paused a couple feet from the girl and pushed forward with his hand. A ghostly wind suddenly appeared and whirled around Rebeca gathering up the foam into a clump and managing to avoid messing with her hair or clothes. Vuduin had spent over a month practicing that trick. The foam was dumped into a trash can and Vuduin offered her a smile in an attempt to help appease her, "Terribly sorry about that, this porygon does appear to be slightly eccentric." Then he heard the porygon explain that she had an internal temperature of around 300 degrees. Another avatar? Otherwise by all rights she'd be dead. "Perhaps if she paid for your dinner you'd forgive her?" Vuduin asked politely. If she was an avatar then she deserved this free dinner by all accounts anyway. Perhaps she'd gotten here late and missed the sign ins.

"Mo~om, hurry it up, already!" Kaze whined as his mother tied his tie. She had wasted half the time mumbling under her breath how much Kaze's transformation was now costing her.

As it was, he was running late. The dinner should be beginning any moment now, and he didn't want to be late. Eventually, the bow tie was finished (as the scratchy black thing, his white buttoned shirt, and his khaki pants were the only dress clothes he had, and quite frankly, they were getting kind of small), and Kaze jumped into action. "C'mon, Jingle!" he called, and the Pokémon latched its scarf-like arms around his forearm. Out the door he went, using his improved athletic ability and a Tailwind to improve his speed. Like a parkour expert, he ran, leaped, swung, and climbed around and over the crowds until he reached the location he had been directed to: The Ritzy Raichu.

When he arrived, his outfit now slightly disheveled and his previously-styled hair in disarray, he noticed a woman who had been covered in foam that could have only come from a fire extinguisher. And of course, the culprit seemed to be the same erratic Porygon-Z from earlier. Before Kaze could offer to lend a hand in cleanup, Darkrai--or rather, Vuduin--used his power to sweep it all up. Definitely an efficient cleansing.

Not knowing how to react, Kaze went to Seras, who looked even more beautiful than when he had seen her earlier, and gave a gentle tug on her dress to let her know he was there. "What happened?" he whispered to her, not wanting to be too loud in the eerily silent corridor.

Wells looked at Kaze, who managed to combine being well-dressed and being poorly prepared as his formal clothes were too small, especially given his apparent attempts at athleticism. He wanted to do something humorous for the others, so he made an obvious observation.

"Porygon could sense her approach from far away. It took a moments to confirm what happened, realizing that its sensors were indeed correct."

Wells let the silence linger longer than necessary. It made sure that the punchline would more powerfully subvert the concealed set-up, making it seem like it stood on its own as much as it was part of a greater joke. When the context of the original sentence faded, he said what he truly meant.

"Porygon thought she was extremely hot!"

Prior to Seras' arrival Vuduin replied to Germaine, and he too had a simialr motivation to be here as Germaine. The chance to try some new exotic and expensive foods - free of charge.
Germaine had to admit, he'd warm up to this Avatar business considerably more if free food was always a part of the bargain.
He was also glad that neither he nor Darkrai had made any attempt on Wells, because it was certainly tempting to Germaine, the more he was in that mans presence the more he grew to hate him.

Shortly afterwards Seras arrived.

Seras blushed slightly when Germaine interrupted her silent conversation with Kirlia; he normally knew what Kirlia was thinking about, it probably involved him, but as to what they actually spoke about, was something he could not deduce, even if he tried.
Following this she responded to Germaines question.

“Just as eventful, I’m afraid, but far more relaxing all the same. I’ve been selling statuettes in the main plaza - there’s no end to the tourists who love them, and once you’ve already said yes to one person, it’s hard to say no to the second.”
This was true, Germaine thought to himself, and as well as that it was bad business practice, this was most likely one of her main forms of income, which wasn't at all bad, using her powers for good and joy.
Germaine could do something similar; allowing scientists to explore and learn about the distortion world...
It would take some hellish persuasion to allow him to ever contemplate this however; the first human to ever enter the distortion world was none other than a scientist, one who wanted to destroy the entire universe; the entire plane of existence for his foolish ideals!

It only just occurred to him after this short inside outburst within his own head that he realised Seras had said something else; but he had been a tad to preoccupied to listen to what she was actually saying...
Another downside to his lack of contact with any living being for millennia...

Seras was now doing something quite odd; the gems on her clothing and general appeal began to dim, as before they shone quite radiantly, despite the fact that it was now well past dusk.
And it quickly became evident as to why this was, Seras was forming a new crystal in her hands and before long produced a magnificent sculpture that resembled Kirlia with stunning detail, it was almost photographic but in the form of solid gemstone.
Kirlia couldn't believe her eyes, and they opened wide, both astonished and in admiration.
And followed soon after when Seras handed it to her it turned to that of incredible joy, to the point where she was almost in tears as her eyes assumed a glassy look to them.

“Consider this a homecoming gift to share with Kirlia. I wouldn't dream of charging another avatar - our gifts are to share freely amongst each other.”

Kirlia with slight strain managed to compose a message to Seras before shortly giving a small Poof as she teleported to take her treasure back home - she would return later that evening.

"Thank you so much! And I will! Germaine is worth that much; no one should have to suffer what he has, Charity will know herself if she looks deep enough within Germaines heart, she can tell you." A rather strange touch to add to a compliment, but part of understanding Germaine meant that one had to understand what he had suffered.

After that Seras turned from the pair; or rather Germaine himself as Kirlia had just teleported with a gleeful hop before hand, she then began to speak to Vuduin.

(Notify me if this requires removal or reform.)
Germaine took the time to observe his surroundings, as he typically did.
The restaurant itself was inside the city's interior, although it was located in the North eastern section, as it did have an outdoor section that overlooked a near by river.

This part of the city had similar types of attractions in it, it was typically the "high" end of the city, it contained several Posh eatery establishments, "The Ritzy Raichu" merely being one of the ones available.
It was during this time, of Germaines observations that he spotted a girl who turned one her heels away from the restraunt, but he disregarded it as nothing of importance; that was until that blasted artificial creation; Porygon-Z zoomed to the "rescue" and doused the girl in a foam from a fire extinguisher it has just momentarily liberated from the restaurant moments before.

There was no fire to speak of... the blasted thing must be malfunctioning; as is the result of man attempting to create artificial Pokémon, be it intent or mistake; or even a by-product of humanity's avarice.
Certain Pokémon did exist in the world, specifically Ghost types that existed ONLY due to humanity being the despicable lifeforms that they were; Giratina was of course the exception to that rule.

Germiane simply looked down towards the Porygon Z with severe distaste; until he realised that the foam designed to put out fires was fizzling and seemingly disintegrating from her body, at least parts exposed directly to her skin were at any rate; the rest was cleared up rather kindly by Vuduin, using a Pokemon move that was designated as an attack but for utility instead; this of course warranted merit.

It was also around this time that the boy, or peace keeper number 2 showed up, unremarkably he went straight towards Seras, something Germaine had anticipated he'd do, and quite frankly he didn't blame him.
For someone who looked so young, he faced a hell of a challenge and a future ahead of him.

Wait.
Germaine stopped suddenly.
That noise? It sounded a lot like someone hammering a nail... yes...
One of the final few nails that needed hammering down in Well's coffin, as he took the opportunity to make a disgrace of himself and anger Germaine further with his blithe disregard to the people around him; people whom were powerful enough to relieve him of his head, with little more than a flick of a wrist.

Germaine did not speak though; he just made his seething anger towards Wells very evident.

With a somewhat amused sigh, Seras leaned towards Kaze. “Porygon-Z found a heat-based avatar before we did,” she whispered back. “The rest pretty much tells itself.”

As catastrophically typical the moment was, everything seemed to be entirely under control - Porygon-Z would probably get a firm verbal update to its public relation protocol from Justine afterwards, but no real harm had been done and the ever-polite Vuduin was handling the situation excellently. Crisis averted.

And then Wells opened his mouth.

As his words slowly registered - double-checking that, yes, she had heard him correctly - she felt some small, important gear in her mental composure give way. He simply would not learn. Anger flushed through her veins. First you land on me, without apology. Then you pick a fight with Germaine, in a crowded square to boot, and I stand in front of Germaine for you. And now you’re goading another volatile avatar, shaming all of us in front of our host and spoiling my first night out in this gown. I don’t even know which one of those frustrates me the most.

Charity tugged urgently at her elbow.

“Germaine is going to snap at this rate,” she noted fearfully.

Seras glanced at Germaine without great concern; his response didn’t seem out of proportion to her at the moment. But as rewarding as it would be to allow someone else to tear into Wells, that didn’t solve the problem of their peaceful meal. Besides, I get first dibs.

“You restain Germaines, if-and-when necessary. I’ll deal with Wells.”

Ignoring Charity’s loud mental protest, Seras spun towards Wells. His face seemed to be glowing cherry-pink for some reason, along with the walls behind him and most of the street around him. Quite strange - the same colour as the light from as her gemstones - but her anger had hijacked the car and thrown curiosity and critical thinking quite rudely from the driver’s seat.

“Wells, you do everyone here a great disservice,” she snarled. “This is a rare opportunity for us to enjoy a peaceful meal and have a pleasant conversation with our fellow avatars, neither of which seems likely if you insist on goading every last man, woman and child that you meet. If you can’t behave like an adult, then we’ll be forced to find you a booster seat and leave you at the children’s table so that the rest of us can enjoy ourselves tonight.”

Glancing down the alley, she exchanged a look of deep frustration and despair with Justine. I’ll deal with yours if you’ll deal with mine.

She took a steadying breath. Maintaining this level of anger without bursting wasn’t pleasant at all, like crewing a steam engine on the brink of blowing a valve, but she’d damned if she let off steam before the matter was dealt with. “Apologise to our new friend for your crass behaviour,” she demanded. “And I never thought that I’d need to say this, but could you please restrain yourself until we’ve finished our meal?”

Staring Wells dead in the eyes, she extended a hand from him to shake - the gesture would hopefully appear marginally more benign than actually intended to the major and Justine, neither of whom had witnessed her first encounter with Wells. Your code. Your choice. Either knowingly escalate this into an actual battle, which seems long overdue by this stage, or man up and take responsibility for once.

Wells finally realized how poorly he understood the humor of his fellow avatars. Seras nearly exploded with anger, as she stared into Wells' eyes. But he realized that yielding to her anger could make him lose control over the situation - and perhaps create a fight that nobody would win. So he took the time that Seras nearly shouted at him, and spent it thinking of a reply. After hearing her demand an apology for a stranger, he decided to reply in what he hoped would be a disappointing way. He thought it was the most fitting response to her attempts at insulting his maturity, by insisting that he fit in better among children. And finally, she tried to give him a handshake yet again. Wells looked at it, hoping that Sera's words would lose some of their power among the crowd while he seemingly thought about the handshake.

"Do they have fries at the children's table? Because I quite like fries, and I honestly don't mind children. They're willing to be blunt when they speak, and they don't seem to mind when others do the same. I quite appreciate your suggestion, Seras, although I doubt I would fit in a booster seat. It would be an excellent way to escape the formality that I often try to avoid, but that I never talked about... to avoid being too mean to Justine and the mayor. Another poor attempt to ease tension seems to have been made even worse by its response... yet again. Seems like more than enough reason to leave you to enjoy yourselves. Seras, I'll take your advice to heart. I've worked here as an apprentice, and know a great place for pizza. I'll go there on my own, and hope you enjoy yourselves here."

Wells started walking away from Seras, deciding not to shake her hand.

Rebeca’s eyes shifted from person to person, simmering. The foam, for her, wasn’t actually all that uncomfortable; she’d been in much colder situations. Startling, yes. Annoying, certainly. But uncomfortable? No. The attention it drew to her, however, was far more so. Concerned looks in her direction, a relatively disturbing attempt to clean her up, hurried apologies, all of which did little improve her mood.

The Porygon-Z’s comment was surprising to her. She had known from the beginning that she was warmer than everyone else. How could she not, given what she could do? But to be THAT hot? News to her, she hadn’t had her temperature taken since she was 10.

And then the green-haired guy decided to crack a joke, for which the pink-haired girl immediately began chastising him for. Or at least, she thought it was supposed to be a joke. If so, the only response it gained from her was an irritated glare, and though she wasn’t aware of it, her eyes began to glow slightly. In truth, she didn’t even hear the girl’s words.

Then Maya began visibly squirming and chittering in discomfort, startling her out of her focus on the situation. She glanced down, where the Kabuto’s eyes were peering up at her through the collar of her shirt. The Porygon-Z was right; she WAS getting hotter. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath through her nose, then released it through her mouth, almost imperceptible heatwaves emerging with it as her hand absently come up to reassure the infant Pokemon. “Shhh shhshh.” This did succeed in calming her, though her legs continued to lightly squeeze around her chest to express her continued displeasure.

After a couple more breaths, Rebeca opened her eyes, her voice possessing an oddly steady calmness. The pink-haired girl was now glowing rather brightly (seemed she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t in complete control of themselves), and was arguing with the green-haired man. Almost everyone else seemed occupied with their own concerns; yes, she had no desire to be here whatsoever. “I think there has been some mistake. I am not what you think I am, I was just looking for some work. Obviously there isn’t, so I’m leaving now.”

She turned away to do so, but was stopped cold when Mihkail snarled at her. The sound was loud and angry as it echoed off the walls, catching the attention of the entire group as he firmly planted himself in Rebeca’s way, fangs bared, head lowered and spine raised as if he was going to charge. For a moment, Rebeca was astonished. Mihkail had never been so visibly angered towards her before. “Mihkail, get out of the way.”

The Spike Pokemon snarled again. No.

Rebeca gritted her teeth and tried to step around him, only for him to lunge into her path, as much as his short legs would allow him to, the ground cracking audibly beneath his weight. I wasn’t asking, Mihkail. Move.

No. You are being childish, stubborn and stupid, Rebeca.

Fuck you. I am not staying with these people, and I am not joining any stupid tournament.

These people are like yourself. Yes, granted, first impressions have not been spectacular, but still. How can you not take this opportunity to learn from them? It seems like a no-brainer to me. Besides, you used to like fighting.

Rebeca’s hands clenched into tight fists, and Maya began squirming again. It’s not happening, Mihkail. I am not some circus Ursaring to be put on display for everyone to gawk at!

Mihkail roared. No, you are not! But you cannot honestly tell me that you didn’t have an audience when you were six!

That is completely different! That was fighting for the sake of fighting! This is a fucking performance by attention-seekers too preoccupied with themselves to actually give a damn!

Get over yourself Rebeca. You know NOTHING about these people, and I’ve seen the impressions that you’ve left on people before. You are not the picture of innocence.

Dammit Mihkail, I am not going to hurt anyone!

At that point, Maya had had enough. Giving her “mother” one last chitter of displeasure, the Kabuto slid down her body to emerge from the bottom of her shirt, scrambled down her legs to the floor, and scuttled next to Mihkail. The amount of heat radiating off of Rebeca could now easily be felt more than a foot away from her, and were it not for her gloves, her nails would have pierced her palms from the amount of pressure inside her clenched fists.

Mihkail himself grew notably quiet, though far from cowed. Ah. He paused for a moment to allow Maya to clamber onto his back, where she nervously watched the group of humans. Rebeca, look at these people. You saw what they are capable of. Out of everyone in the world, they are the least likely that you could harm. As for everyone else, I get it. I do. But this could be a place where you learn more about yourself and how to best control yourself. How to use what you are capable of. You owe that to yourself. And if others happen to see it, so what? Since when have you ever given a damn what others have thought about you? Do you really think that you would be put in a situation where you could harm those who couldn’t take it? That you wouldn’t stop yourself in such a situation? Have a little faith on yourself, Rebeca.

Vuduin took a step back: between the barely controlled rage, the standoff with a seemingly angry Rhyhorn, and the enormous amounts of heat exuding from the unknown women he wasn't inclined to get in-between any of it. Behind him he heard Wells perhaps making even more of a fool of himself if that was possible. What to do? The flame women was obviously very angry and not interested in them at all, even when it came to free food which was a bit of a surprise to Vuduin. Given she was an avatar she was most likely having a heated discussion with her Pokemon. A little bit of nap time magic might help here but if she found out he had a feeling there'd be hell to pay. Perhaps Seras would be better suited to dealing with this. Vuduin was leery of turning the rage of the women onto anything else, like himself, so he turned slightly to walk away- and bonked into Shade, at least as best as the gaseous Pokemon could bonk him.

Vuduin looked down at the blob of darkness wrapped up so nicely with his red scarf and sighed. How was he supposed to talk to her? She clearly didn't care for any of them, he'd already invited her to join in dinner, and it looked like she'd have left by now if that Rhyhorn, presumably hers, wasn't in the way. Vuduin could only repeat his appeal, perhaps apply to her seeming job-seeking, or give up, which gastly apparently didn't like. "Ahem, I'm sure that if you're looking for work Justine would be able to help." Should he mention her being an avatar and the benefits therefore, or would that anger her more? He felt like he was walking on eggshells. Over lava. Fun. "If nothing else I ask that you allow her to make up for Porygon's action by partaking in dinner." Vuduin finished, speaking in a calm, polite manner as always. He wasn't sure why Shade was intent on having her stay but usually Shade was right about these sort of things and Vuduin relied on him more than anything else.