Though nearly everything about the Lady Cattleya’s bedchambers seemed conducive to a long, drawn rest- designed for it, as it was of the utmost importance to her ladyship, and even more to her house staff, that she be as well-rested as they could possibly ensure she was at all times, in anticipation of the incidents they and the guests that most often frequented her manor knew all too well could result from an irate Cattleya- her most recent guest had found himself tossing to and fro in his sleep, disturbing the silken sheets that he had been dressed in and the curtains drawn around her bed in his moving, kicking about, close to waking- when the shoji partitioning her room between the bed and her quarters, dresser and tables had been pulled back. It had been long enough of a rest that, even if he had not been woken by the sound of voices, quiet, and the rustling and folding of the room being prepared, his sleep would have become fitful, too close to waking to remain in the Lady’s bed for much longer. His eyelids fluttered, lashes falling over his cheeks- closing, opening, blinking in the evening-colored light coming in from the other side of the room. There was little that could convince him to leave a bed as enticing as the Lady Cattleya’s, however, and he remained tired enough in the way someone having slept too long, and too indulgently, often is. He closed his eyes, and they would have remained so had he not heard, faintly, but there, an address to him.
“Lady Cattleya’s guest.” He’d not caught what preceded it, only those words coming in his direction as whoever had addressed him turned his head.
Another stirring, and he lifted his head slightly, attempting in as little of a way he could to make it out.
“-If I had known, we could just as well have had our tea downstairs.”
“It’s alright. He won’t mind.”
Nikolai was always up in the most inconvenient of hours when the league had required him- the other time, he had to do several tasks around the areas surrounding Flocessy early in the morning up until sundown, but the rain had prevented him from heading home that same day. Luckily, the champion had let him and his Wynauts stay for the night, lessening Nikolai's worry for any sort of shelter that night. He had left as soon as morning came and the rain let up, with his stomach full of a warm breakfast Alder himself made.
Today, there was no such thing. He had been awake since the previous night following an emergency call regarding some tourists and an outbreak of Jellicent, and after ensuring the safety of both people and Pokemon in Undella, Nikolai spent hours upon hours with few of the league's medical staff tending to injuries and answering concerns, up until the hospital was finally able to take them off their hands.
By the time lunch hour rolled around, Nikolai felt hungry and tired- mostly tired, as Beam and Viel made sure he had enough snacks in between his work. Beam later secured a takeout from him from a nearby restaurant, but that left Nikolai's growing irritability from a lack of sleep.
Thankfully, Cattleya's villa wasn't too far- she and Giima were the only members of the Elite Four whose houses he frequented and stayed at, and though he didn't have a warm body to share it with, her bed was more than comfy enough to make up for it.
He had fallen into a deep sleep at some point after scarfing down his food- he was sure Viel wiped his face clean and assisted him in shedding his labcoat. He would have loved to sleep some more- but there was someone else in the room.
He squeezed Beam- his doll had fallen asleep next to him, and was just as groggy as he was. Beam was still a little more alert, though.
Sleepily raising a paw, Beam lit three yellow lights- not exactly hostile, but not friendly either, as if signaling Nikolai's mood.
From where she was seated at the table, Cattleya raised her eyes from her tea. Chamomile for herself, as always, she rarely had anything else- any alteration to the routine she and her staff had gone through so many times, they knew, and had been briefed on, could result in their Lady’s mood quickly changing, and chamomile had a soporific effect on her, easily-influenced as she was towards the inclinations she drew towards. She looked over at the bed, the figure behind the curtains, then towards the attendant at her side.
“If you wish,” the attendant replied, lowering his head respectfully, “Lady Cattleya. Although, out of courtesy to your guest- I, well,”
“I have another guest. Wake him.”
At that, the other guest in question laughed softly, a smile concealed behind the silken glove with which she covered her lips as she spoke, with some amusement. “There really is no need, Cattleya. I’m surprised you allow anyone to share your bed at all, but I certainly don’t need you to-”
Her attendant cut her off. “Lady Cattleya wishes him to join us. You.” he corrected, then, as if he had not spoken out of turn, continued smoothly on. “All I wanted to say is that I would not want to upset him, if he has still not yet woken.”
Cattleya set her tea down.
When Cattleya's attendant approached- his name was Darach if he recalled correctly (Nikolai should do better to remember the names of men he was acquainted with), Nikolai was instantly in a mood; not the same intensity of irritability earlier when he lacked sleep, but more akin to a child's who was forced to wake up before they were satisfied from their sleep.
He whined a little when he was slightly touched- only when Beam's paws cupped his face, gently wiping away his tears, did he stop.
Darach sighed under his breath, his shoulders slouching forward in what was, to a keen-eyed watcher, the slightest betrayal of his usually faultless posture, and a huff of annoyance- he’d dealt with many of Cattleya’s guests, and enough of the ruder ones to have practiced his composure in circumstances like this, but he felt less sure of the efficacy of that practice in as awkward a situation as this particular guest had put him in. He really could not understand why Cattleya allowed him in her bed, nor why the task of waking him was delegated to him. It was not as if Darach did not know Nikolai by now, and all of his peculiarities with him, but his lack of all decorum frustrated him to no end. Still half-asleep, not even having bothered to get up and greet Cattleya with the respect she deserved, let alone her guest, the Champion-?
“The Lady Cattleya requests your presence.” Darach began. “If you would be so kind as to humor her.” He sighed, again, not wanting to upset him any more than he did Cattleya, and looked to the Beheeyem tucked in next to Nikolai. “Beheeyem, if you please, could you wake your young master?”
Most of all, what irritated him was how Nikolai was more willing to listen to his Beheeyem than he was to either him or Cattleya, or, for that matter, any other members of her esteemed staff. Faults he could excuse in Cattleya herself, but that he had no reason to do so for Nikolai.
His eyebrows twitched, quirking upwards. “Beheeyem.” he repeated. “Could you?”
Beam effortlessly pulled itself away from Nikolai; it prompted Nikolai to whine and sob, but Beam brought over a couple of Nikolai's things- his glasses, an amulet of some sports, and a soft handkerchief, using its psychic powers.
A handkerchief to wipe his tears, an amulet to keep him safe.
Once Beam put Nikolai's glasses on his face, brushing strands away from his face, Nikolai ceased his crying.
Rest was over- it was time to do his duties as a league doctor.
Darach straightened himself up, neatening the collar of his shirt and the pull of his tie, and, when Nikolai got out of bed, found himself hastily distracting himself with a fold in the shirt that allowed him to look discreetly away from his unclothed state. His eyes darted back up, then quickly down again. Nikolai was not naked, but only around half of his torso was covered by the sort of compression garment he was wearing. It left little to the imagination, whether or not it was technically covering him, and Darach was so preoccupied with the task of keeping himself from thinking about what was not that he hardly registered his indignation at it. He had the fleeting thought to cover him with a sheet, or a spare shirt, if he had the opportunity to go and find something suitable before Nikolai got out of bed- which he just had.
Darach stiffly turned to the others at the table. “Nikol- pardon me,” he corrected himself, his entire face seeming to purse with consternation at the situation he had been put in. “-Dr. Nikolai Colress. This is him.” His attempt at an introduction garnered no response from either Cattleya or her guest.
“Shall I, er,” Darach did his best to stop himself from wringing his hands, nervous as he was. “Shall I get you a shirt, or something with which to cover yourself up?”
“-A teacup for him, if you would?”
Darach looked in the direction of the voice, and, even more embarrassed, corrected his manners again. “Forgive me, Dr. Colress, I should have introduced you. This is- I’m sure you’re already familiar- our most esteemed Champion, Lady Cynthia Shiroku.” He began to bow in Cynthia’s direction, but she stopped him with a dismissive incline of her head. Darach stuttered to excuse himself, but, not wanting to interrupt her, let her speak.
“There’s no need. I’ll let him introduce himself.” Cynthia told him. “I would very much like to get to know this guest you hold in such high regard.” She chuckled slightly as she spoke, and Darach took that as his cue to go.
“A-Anything else you need.” Darach bowed again as he left the room. “My Lady. And, er, Doctor.”
Nikolai's labcoat was being washed by Viel, so he was left with only the leotard he wore underneath. It was something that reminded him of the garments under his old village robes, but it was also practical for situations that required Nikolai to move freely without the weight of his coat slowing him down. It had been good for tasks wherein he himself had to recover Pokemon from somewhere their rescuers couldn't, and it had been very effective in avoiding the attacks of hostile Pokemon- so far.
..the openings on the waist, the deep cut on the back, and the hole on the chest were more for comfort than anything though. He didn't understand why Giima seemed so indignant when he spotted Nikolai walking around the league's clinic in only these garments- what use was his coat there, when all that he needed was on his desk?
Nikolai brushed the blue hair out of his face- he should really consider a hairstyle more suitable for his profession, but any attempt done before had only irritated him. Adjusting his glasses, he made his way to where the unfamiliar guest was standing in slow, steady steps.
His feet never touched the lines of the floor, Darach noticed.
He bowed- for some reason, through Beam, Nikolai noticed Darach looked away when Nikolai's back was exposed to him.
"..champion Cynthia from Sinnoh,"
“Nikolai, come over here.” Cattleya slid over on the chaise longue she was lounging on, seemingly unbothered by the state he had just put her attendant in. She stretched and yawned, then settled in next to him. “You were so tired.” she hummed. “But I want your company. And Beam’s. Beam,” She called it over, cooing as the little thing came floating closer. “Come, come here.”
“You have such a way with them, Cattleya.” Across the low table, Cynthia- who, for her part, had not looked away from Nikolai since he first caught her attention- appraised it, Beam, Nikolai’s well-trained Beheeyem, and with some admiration for it or for its training in her eyes, looked back at the object of her interest. “Such a difficult type to train. For most. Not all, certainly not for you.”
“Not for Nikolai, either.”
“Do you work with many Psychic-types, Nikolai?” Cynthia asked, tilting her head slightly. He caught her eye then, and held it. “I assume that’s how you came to meet Cattleya.”
Nikolai sat next to her, walking over in the same doll-like manner as he did when he walked over to Cynthia. After he settled next to her, both hands on his exposed legs, Beam floated over between him and Cattleya, propping itself on the couch like a large teddybear.
Beam looked up at Nikolai when it did. Nikolai patted its head.
"..mm. Thank you for letting me stay. I hope Viel has not been difficult."
He then turned to the other guest. She had asked him a question; it wouldn't be good for the league if he didn't reply.
"..I do. A few, my own companions, like Beam and my Metagross. Most of the psychic types I handle are the ones in the league. The Wobuffet and Wynauts, a couple of Gothoritas and Kirlias.."
"..mm. We met in the league."
“I see.” Cynthia paused momentarily, her eyes- inquisitive, as always, but taking unusually keen interest in whatever it was they’d caught in him- focusing sharply on something right below the curve of his collarbone, the dip at the base of his neck. Her hand came up to touch at something near her own chest, but she stilled herself before she could. She looked as if she wanted to ask him something, but neither he not Cattleya were as perceptive as she was, and neither noticed her hesitant gesture. Cattleya looked back at him, then to Cynthia again, and spoke in the intermission Cynthia had left for her.
“I told you about the Reuniclus he helped me with.” Cattleya said, yawning again between sentences. “I think I mentioned it, during that thing with the- what was it, the Association’s tiering policy update, you know.” She waved her hand uninterestedly. “It doesn’t matter. He treated my Reuniclus.”
“I do recall having to meet with the Council here for that.” Cynthia murmured. Then, changing the subject, she spoke again. “Nikolai- it interests me, although I may have misjudged- how did you find yourself in this region’s League?”
He'd been here for so long he couldn't remember how he came to be their doctor. There had been periods in his life where he would often find himself simply following wherever the breeze brought him and his Pokemon companions, and how he ended up in Unova had been one of them.
Stability, Viel had told him, what was he needed. He couldn't drift forever, hoping that wherever his feet brought him next would be his new home. Nothing could replace what he had lost.
He sought out work he knew he had the skill and drive for; how he advanced far into his career to catch the league's attention, he could no longer recall. It was only practical for him to exert his efforts in what he did best, and he applied the same into every aspect of the supposedly normal life he had crafted for himself; a suitable apartment for himself and his Pokemon friends to call home, a few others to surround himself with in case he needed human connections to get further into this world, a routine..
"..I suppose you can say something guided me here."
“I have no doubt that you were brought here by something.” Cynthia was still looking at his amulet as he spoke, what little of it there was that he hadn’t clutched tightly in his fingers. In that, if there had been any doubt in her mind, that gesture dispelled it. How similar it was to her own, how, in times of doubt or uncertainty, she would hold onto her amulet in the same way- how she had once looked towards it for guidance, much like him, so many times that, for her, the association between it and her was more of repetition, something she did for the sake of doing more than out of any remaining belief. “If it was your guide- well, maybe it was. They still say so in Sinnoh.”
It was an act of true willpower for her not to bring her fingers up to clutch her own amulet. They closed around nothing, and folded into her other gloved hand in her lap.
“You aren’t from Sinnoh, though, are you?”
Cattleya made a questioning noise. “He doesn’t look Sinnohian.” She looked back at Cynthia, then hesitated. “Maybe. Does he?”
At that, something in Nikolai's eyes seemed to twinkle.
Whatever it was, Cynthia caught it- Nikolai himself didn't seem to notice how he leaned forward in interest.
"..I am not from Sinnoh, I am from Kalos."
"..I do recall my mother mentioning that her descendants came from Hisui, but she herself thinks those are baseless rumors."
“Hisui. Then you must have been very far removed, if those descendants came from Hisui- well, Sinnoh- that long ago.” she mused. “If they did at all. I assume too much. Not without reason, but-“
The door opened, and with it came the light, mildly floral scent of freshly-steeped tea. “Your tea, Doctor.” Darach lowered his head, unable to fully bow without spilling it. The teapot had been refilled, and another cup brought in for Nikolai on a porcelain saucer and tray. “And more for you, my ladies.“
Darach set the tray down on the table, then, as soon as he could without seeming impolite, stepped back and away from Nikolai. He was still clearly uncomfortable, and still wondering how Cattleya and Cynthia could be so at ease, how neither appeared in the least perturbed, or even curious, about his choice of garment or lack thereof. Cynthia may have simply been better at not looking at him, though he couldn’t imagine how.
Nikolai took the teacup into his hands, staring at it.
..there was a slight expression of dissatisfaction in his eyes, but he still made an attempt to sniff the tea and bring the cup to his lips.
For as much as Nikolai was a big eater of a guest, who gave Darach minimal trouble when it came to what snacks and meals to serve him (really, the portions were what troubled Darach more), Nikolai seemed to be highly picky with his tea- Beam noticed this, and floated out of the couch and out of the room, passing by Darach in the process.
Cattleya tilted her head, watching Nikolai sip his tea apprehensively, making a displeased face down at the cup. He set it back down onto
his plate with a clink, only for her to reach over for it as soon as she had the chance. “If you don’t want it, Nikolai,” Already with the rim of the plate in her hand, pulling it away, “I’ll take it. If you don’t mind.”
“Don’t be rude, Lady Cattleya.” Darach reprimanded her sharply.
“I’m not.” She stopped with the cup raised to her lips. “He doesn’t want it. Go get him something else.” She waved a hand at Darach, and, with an indignant sniff that covered his wanting to say something in retort, he turned and left the room again.
Cynthia chuckled. “You were rude to him. The things he puts up with.” She shook her head, then refilled her own tea- not finding it as displeasing as Nikolai had. “What an effect you have on that man, Cattleya. I’d think you didn’t realize what you could make him do if you didn’t test his patience every day.”
Just as Darach was leaving to follow his lady's orders, Beam- not maliciously so, floated back inside and bumped into him on the way. It didn't turn around to acknowledge him, only settling right back next to Nikolai while holding something in its paws.
It looked like a packaged pie from a convenience store.
Following after the little Pokemon was another attendant, in less formal wear than Darach was- he lacked a blazer, buttons of his polo were popped open, and his long, white ponytail haphazardly shifted around- if it caught itself in something, it could spell disaster, but he didn't seem to care. All that mattered was carrying the tray to Nikolai, which held another teacup.
"Apologies. I was tending to your clothes, I didn't realize you were awake."
There's less formality in the way he spoke to Nikolai, but there wasn't any lack of affection; if anything, he seemed fond of him, with the way he gently lowered the tray and brought the teacup to Nikolai's lips.
Cattleya covered a light giggle with a hand brought up over her teacup, pressed close to her lips. Cynthia merely raised an eyebrow. She asked what Cattleya did not- she, assumedly, already knew him and his butler well enough to not have to question it.
“And who might this be?” Cynthia gestured towards the attendant, looking him over with mild interest. “Another one of your guests, Cattleya, or-?”
Nikolai pulled the tea away; Viel knew how to prepare it the way he liked it, and Beam was so mindful to get him a snack to eat with it. Truly, he couldn't ask for better Pokemon companions.
..and a part of him thought, of course they would fit his tastes better than the human butler did, but he did not want to disgrace Cattleya's attendant; he was probably trained to suit her tastes, just as Viel was trained to suit his.
He didn't look away from Viel as he spoke; almost absentmindedly, he reached out to tangle his fingers in Viel's hair, gently stroking it for a job well done.
Viel's ponytail flicked a little against the floor.
"He is a.. companion of mine."
As with most of her questions about Nikolai, and, enigmatic as he was, she had many more to be left unasked than those asked which would not be answered, Cynthia let it be that this was all she would know for the time being. She neglected to press any further, fortunate for both herself and the attendant, who had turned and given her a look as she spoke that seemed to say in itself that neither wanted her to ask any more. Companion seemed the apt term, appropriately open-ended, steeped in meaning nonetheless. If there was any meaning not yet revealed to be gleaned from Nikolai’s eyes- turned down again to his tea- besides his satisfaction at how it had been prepared for this time, Cynthia could not yet see it. Still, she watched him.
“Your companion.” she restated. “I believe I see what you mean. Thank you, then,” Not looking directly at him, she spoke to Viel. “For taking care of our Nikolai here.”
Viel didn't seem to hear her praise- or anything else for that matter, his eyes had closed slightly when Nikolai patted him. Only when he pulled away did Viel pick himself up from his position, taking the empty tray into his hands.
He made sure to bow to Cynthia and Cattleya as he left- but not as low as he bowed to Beam, who was helping Nikolai unpeel the pie from the packaging.
"I will get his coat steamed. He must be getting cold."
Nikolai, distracted by the much more important task of getting the plastic packaging open, barely acknowledged Cynthia’s query- until she stood up and leaned over the table, looking down at him with something in her eyes that was not entirely concern, nor similar to it- affection, perhaps, though that seemed simplistic for something that was, to him, so unreadable. It was something he could not place, and he stayed there, looking up at her, before something settled over his bare shoulders. Reaching down around his arms, Cynthia pulled her coat over him, and he let her move him without resistance. His eyes had widened ever-so-slightly, still staring blankly up at her as her hands moved over his shoulders, down his arms, then pulled away. Her coat was long for him around the waist and sleeves, but it was soft, and he found himself leaning into the feeling of her hands sliding down it before she sat back down.
She’d asked him- she’d asked something else, but he hadn’t heard whatever it was. He hadn’t been listening.
“It’s alright, Viel.” Cynthia’s voice softened. “There. For you.”
Nikolai let out a content sigh, bringing the cloak close to his face and nuzzling. Was he smelling it too?
"...warm.. this feels nice.."
He could drift off into a sleep like this- but he couldn't.
Still, he looked up at Cynthia, and with as much appreciation as he could muster, he spoke to her.
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