I Can’t Pick Just One Muse.

“You’re right.” It’s over. She was free from the shots, the leashes, the looks of dissapointment and attempts at dissect her eyes. If she was free, why was it so easy to feel trapped with one bad dream? “Is it… bad I’m not over what happened to me?”

He’s silent for a moment, just watching her face with a small, sad smile on his own. Some of them never let go of something like that…sometimes it clings to your bones and it’s too late. 

Meowth doesn’t think that’ll be the case with her.

Indigo slowly nodded, not sure how to take his sputtered laugh. “It’s probably not, but I guess it wasn’t said out of complete malice. He… well, one of my owners I mean, told me that was what they wanted to avoid, so I needed to behave better.” Totally not ominous and poking around whoever raised her noooooope!!!!

Hmmm….his eyes narrow and his lips thin. 

“The fact that they’re tryin’ in the first place, and knew what could happen….”

That’s suspicious. And he knows suspicious scientist types. Gave him the creeps, no matter how much power and praise they could bring him.

She smiled a little, placing her paws around her neck. “You can look at it like that, and that’s what I try to do but… I used to be told that if I ever felt an emotion too strongly I could cause someone’s head to pop off.” Morbid? Yes. Trauma inducing? ABSOLUTELY

Ohhhh….well that makes sense.

“Good by being?” Indigo scrunched up her face as she pondered about this. It made general sense; she hadn’t done anything super violent or malicious (to her knowledge), but everyone has the potential to end up like that. Yet the back of her mind presented her with a lingering fear since she was little. “The only thing I know I am just by being is… kind of dangerous.”

He hums. Meowth has no idea what that’s like. Sure, people underestimate him all the time, but that’s his power. That’s his specialty. He made himself that. 

Psychic Pokemon are born that way, with that power– of course they hone it and grow stronger but the potential is there from the moment they’re eggs. 

“You don’t?” Ruby red and yellow eyes blinked with surprise. 

Well babies are generally good just by pooping and crying, aren’t they?

She giggles. “I haven’t really done anything, have I?” Despite Lilac’s constant praising of her “adorable and talented little kitty,” compliments were hard for Indigo to receive—especially when they’re out of the blue and not connected to anything she’s done.

He shrugs. “No, but you don’t need to do anything to be good.”

If you listened closely, small purrs emitted from the blue and white feline. “You’ve been petting me a lot,” she noticed. “I don’t mind it though.”

Indigo also noticed how something was still bugging him…. thought it’s hard to tell exactly what. 

“Is it weird?” He doesn’t stop, but the rest of him kind of has a pause. He can’t be too fond and sweet! Meowth has an image to keep up, you know? 

“It can’t be that much more than what I’ve had to sacrifice.” Indigo says, soon covering her mouth. “That sounded rude, didn’t it?! Sorry!! I just meant… like having to find the people who actually understand you and not just what you say. Having to leave the people you thought cared about you behind…”

He feels that. Meowth truly, truly feels that, and for a moment he feels such an ache in his heart for this kid, who’d had to suffer, from the sound of it, a lot like him– 

He doesn’t say anything. Just ruffles her fur again, fondly. He doesn’t want to say that somehow it feels like he doesn’t get to have nice things like moves working out after all this time.

“Uwah?!” She blinks, cheeks soon puffing up and paws starting to pummel his arm. “We’re about the same age, right? You’re not that much older than me!!” After all, if they were humans, they’d be around their mid-20s or something along the young adult range, right? “And no… I won’t be mad. I’m not mad that you work for Team Rocket, y’know? It’s hard for me to really get angry.”

“The same age..I wonder.”

No, Meowth is definitely an old man. Always and forever. That does not change in the 9 lives he sheds again and again and again. 

He stifles a sigh. 

Indigo pouts, a bit dejected at the idea of simple good food and good times being simple, or below (probably above knowing Meowth’s self esteem) his level. “Well what is it that you want that’s so complicated?”

He wants to say ‘evil’. He wants to say chaos and knowing someone can never turn away from what you’ve done, cannot ever ignore you or kick you to the curb as just another mangy stray– that chaos, at least, proves you’re here and you’ve done something and no one can take that way from you.

She smiles, nodding along. Come to think of it, moves often either showed themselves out of the blue or took a long time to specifically learn and master. If he hadn’t had any moves just become available for a while, maybe it was safe to say he simply used up his experience already. As for advice on money… she didn’t have any to be completely honest. That didn’t stop her from trying to give her thoughts on the matter. “I think lots of people think that, pokemon…. I’m not sure. You’re the only one I know for sure, though there are some of Lilac’s that just like to have fancy treatment and stuff.”

20 years is sure a long time though….

Indigo tilted her head, sitting back down. “Wait… you had said before that you can’t learn any more moves because you taught yourself to talk, right? Is… that what you mean?” Things connected a little more now. She fidgeted with the fur around her neck in embarrassment. “Sorry if I was forcing you…”

He sighs. Fluffs the fur atop her head.

Deep in your heart… in your soul even, probably. “And you don’t have those feelings deep down there?” She asked, mainly out of pure confusion. “I always thought you were someone who had a lot of emotions and was totally open about them.” 

He winces.

“Well…not really, no. It’s like it’s constipated I think.” And then, indignant, “Course I got a lotta emotions! They’re open! But it’s different.” 

Indigo blinked, confused why he brought up sacrilege in all of this. “Isn’t that how the move works? You kinda just have the coin glow and then a buncha copies show up like magic?”

His face screws up into a frown. He contemplates. He actually isn’t…sure. It’s not like he had a lot of other Meowth to ask! So now he has to pull this out of his behind.

((just a smidge of awareness just in case someone happens to stumble across this… if you are, thank you so much!! We mixed up Pay Day with Fury Swipes, so just act like that’s the move we were talking about and Indigo is encouraging him to try and physically make that bank))

“Sooo…. why not start now?” Indigo hopped up back on her legs and motioned with her paws. “You can practice with me! I don’t know how I could help with making that coin on your head turn into copies of itself, but I can try!”

His paws fly up to his precious coin in horror–

“Make copies of– no way! I mean thanks but, no that’s like sacrilege, kid!”

Oh. Oh that’s a little surprising. “Well… you could still learn it now!!” She encouraged, punching the air in front of her.

He smiles a little, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. The time to learn payday has passed.

Indigo blinked. “I thought you already did know fury swipes.” If there’s a move metaphor, it’s gone way over her head.

He sighs. It isn’t. Not even close, not even funny.