Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Fates Entangled
Chapter 2: Two Steps Forward and One Back
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The recently reformed Team Scarlet plans their next move
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Tobias woke up past dawn, the chilly breeze blowing at the closed curtains, making just enough room for sunrays to start slipping in and brightening the room. He woke up in a lazy fashion, slowly rubbing at his eyes, He hadn't felt rested like this in ages.
With a groan followed by a yawn he pushed himself up into a sitting position in the soft bed he laid in. Looking to his right he saw Samir. The Skiddo was still sleeping peacefully, involuntarily twitching his ears from time to time, probably reacting to the noise that came from deep within the house.
Huh? The half-awake Charmander thought.
Where am I?
He blinked a few times, trying to remember how he got to that unknown place.
After a few seconds his recently awakened mind slowly recalled everything that had transpired the night before. His current situation slowly started to dawn on him.
Oh, right.
Part of him still had trouble believing that crazy night was real, that all of that had actually happened. The three of them were actually together again. The thought brought a warm feeling to his chest.
Blinking himself back to reality, he took some time to take in the room around him.
Light blue walls, a white ceiling and a white floor surrounded him while a brown wooden desk with a strange wide black rectangle on top of it was placed across of the bed with beige sheets he sat in. Regal blue colored curtains swishing to his right attached to a silver looking window frame made a soft white noise that fell into the back of his mind. To the northeast of the bed laid a white bedside table with four drawers and to his left a three door gray closet reflected his image with the mirror in its middle door.
He hadn't realized the night before but everything in the room was larger than what he was used to. He knew from looking from the outside that human buildings and their furniture were bigger, but he didn't expect that perception to be accentuated when being inside of one. It made him feel small. It was going to take a while to get used to it.
His thoughts were interrupted by shuffling beside him. Samir slowly rose from sleep as well, with half opened eyes and struggling not to embrace sleep again. It's not like Tobias could blame him, that bed was comfy, and after what happened yesterday he had earned his rest.
After deciding against prolonging his sleep, Samir groaned as he slowly stretched his front legs. Tobias watched as he looked around rather disoriented before locking eyes with him. He was still not quite awake. After a few seconds, his eyes got just a bit wider. His memories were probably returning as well, Tobias guessed.
The now fully awake Pokémon blinked a few times, trying to determine if he was still dreaming or not.
“Morning” Tobias greeted with a short wave. “Did you sleep well?”
His voice seemed to convince Samir he was not hallucinating his recent memories. The Skiddo closed his eyes and sighed before whistling a Yes, which earned a smile from Tobias.
They stared at each other for a moment, letting the cool of the breeze refresh them. It felt nice against Tobias’ scales. The foliage on Samir's body gently waved in the direction of the wind's current.
Looking around, Tobias realized the bed was mostly empty and Nia was nowhere to be seen. The quietness of the room made the noises on the other part of the house more perceptible.
After finishing stretching the rest of his body, Samir hopped to the floor and walked towards the door, hooves making light clacking sounds. Tobias did a small drop from the bed and followed right behind him. The Charmander twisted the doorknob after making a small jump to reach it, opening the door for the two of them to leave the room.
He could only hope their size wouldn't be the cause of more minor inconveniences, but he had the unpleasant feeling his hope was misplaced.
They exited the bedroom into a small white hallway leading to a living room with cream colored walls, a light brown wood looking floor and a white ceiling with a round panel of opaque glass. A window much like the bedroom one with a closed translucent white curtain attached to was located on one of the walls, with a beige sofa sitting below it. On the other extreme of the room opposite of the sofa there was another brown desk with another wide black rectangle on top of it.
A smell of freshly made food coming from the entrance on the wall next to the sofa assaulted their senses and, after following it, they found Nia. She was still wearing the same clothing and the previous night, in what they assumed was the kitchen, given the utensils near her.
The absence of a red scarf on her arm catched Tobias’ attention, but a quick look around showed it to be delicately folded on top of a round table covered with a white cloth, along with three plates and glasses of some sort of juice next to a small dish filled with it as well. Next to the table were three chairs, identical in all but the fact that two of them had some big cushions on top of their seats, increasing their seat size.
A confused expression made its way to Tobias’ face. Are those for us?
Nia was in the middle of preparing something, but she turned around upon hearing the clacking of Samir's hooves on the floor.
She locked eyes with the two Pokémon and smiled gently. Her gaze was warm and kind, enveloping them like a comforting blanket on a cold winter morning.
She opened her mouth to speak but quickly corrected herself, motioning them to sit at the table instead. She turned around and picked a pencil and a notepad, which she placed on the table next to her plate.
Tobias hopped onto the chair and adjusted himself, sitting crossed-legged on the soft cushion beneath him. Samir took a bit longer, shifting for a while on top of his cushion until seemingly finding a comfortable enough position.
After seeing that Samir and Tobias were comfortable, Nia placed what Tobias concluded was their breakfast on their plates before sitting on her chair.
The Pokémon eyed the contents of their plates with curiosity, recognizing the toasted bread, and the apple slices but not the other food placed alongside them. Before he could question Nia about it, she was already scribbling something on her notepad.
Tobias took the time to look around the kitchen. It had a sink with a black countertop. Beneath it were two white square shaped doors, with three drawers next to the right door on top of each other. Some wooden shelves above the sink held some decorative flowers on top of them. A high fruit basket with some fruits in it sat on one of the kitchen's corners.
He noticed the kitchen had a rectangular format just like the bedroom and the living room. Did all the other rooms of the house look like this? It felt different from the naturally shaped buildings of Bethoc's Haven.
Nia ripped the paper from the notepad and placed it close to the edge of the table. Samir and Tobias both leaned forward to read it.
Good Morning
I made our breakfast while you two were sleeping. I don't have many fruits right now, so I prepared some toasted bread with apple slices and strawberry juice, Though I can get you water as well if that's what you prefer.
Tobias looked softly at the paper. He couldn't hide the smile creeping up on his face. Her writing was still messy, just like how they remember it.
“Morning, Nia.” He answered.
He didn't know what a strawberry was, but he would take any food at this point.
“Uh, the juice is fine.”
Thanks, Samir whistled alongside a nod.
Seeing that Nia had returned to writing in her notepad, Tobias started eating some of his apple slices. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he started eating. The slices were juicy and had a sweeter taste than the ones in Bethoc's Haven. Samir seemed to be enjoying his juice in particular, occasionally taking large gulps from his dish, but being careful enough not to spill anything on himself.
Nia slid her newly written notes to them and started eating the toast on her plate. Crunching sounds filled the room. Samir and Tobias read it amid bites of their own.
For how long have you been here? How did you both even end up in the human world in the first place?
“One, two weeks maybe?” Tobias guessed. “We didn't keep count.”
He put his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his left hand. “As to how we got here, we don't remember.” He shrugged
“I've spoken with Samir about it and it seems neither of us can get a clear picture of what happened. It's as if these specific parts of our memory were locked or erased.”
Samir nodded. He looked at Nia then lowered his gaze to the notepad in her hand and then brought it up towards her face again.
You? Speak? He whistled.
Tobias furrowed his brow. “Yeah, how come you're using this notepad to communicate with us? You did this yesterday as well despite still understanding and writing Ordiune well enough.”
Even if the writing could use some improvement.
“You really can't speak it anymore?”
I don't really understand it either. Nia replied in writing.
I have tried speaking some Ordiune before but I wasn't able to speak it well enough for it to be comprehensible. I did manage to speak some words well enough though, so it doesn't seem I am incapable of speaking Ordiune at all.
Practice? Samir questioned.
“Huh” Tobias contemplated the suggestion, looking nowhere in particular. “That's actually not a bad idea. You can try to train your Ordiune with us. It would be useful given our situation. Having to write every time you want to speak to us isn't practical in the long run, nor fast.”
Nia nodded and started writing again. In the meantime, Samir finished eating what was left of his toast and Tobias tried the juice of the unfamiliar fruit.
It was refreshing, not bad at all. It reminded him a bit of Rawst Berries. He rather enjoyed it. Finding something familiar to anchor himself to after the last chaotic weeks was like finding a breath of cold fresh air amidst the oppressive nauseating heat of a volcano.
Nia handed them a new note. Tobias noted a sort of excitement in her eyes.
So, fill me in. How are things back in the guild? I want to know everything. It read
Tobias and Samir smiled and started updating her on the aftermath of the dimensional barrier disaster, pausing from time to time to take a bite of the food on their plates and drink portions of their juice. Nia listened attentively with a nostalgic look and a smile on her face, occasionally writing some questions of her own as well, which the Pokémon were more than pleased to answer.
A warm feeling permeated the three of them. It felt like forever since they were able to sit and casually chat like this yet it still felt just as natural. It felt like home again.
They quickly lost track of time as they talked, even if the talking itself is rather one sided. Tobias took his time explaining in detail how their friends were doing after her departure, and Samir intervened to add any missing details. Tobias swore he saw Nia's smile widen when he used that term to speak of their guildmates.
She is such a dork. He thought, yet couldn't bring himself to hide his own smile.
He also told her how they still talked about her. Val and Azami missed helping Nia with her unique training problems; Avery still commented about her discoveries regarding aura and dungeons; Xander always spoke with fondness about their brotherly like relation; Andyn was still grateful for influencing her to be better; Fen remembered the massive scare of her near death by common cold; And Maggie always remarked on how affectionate Nia was.
Nia crossed her arms on top of the table and laid her head on them as she listened Tobias speak, and the more he spoke the more he realized the lasting impact Nia had on the guild, and in particular on him. It's no wonder he fell so hard for her. He felt so lucky to have her again.
The three of them didn't realize that hours had passed by the time they had finished until they took notice of the slight change of the angle of the sunlight reflecting on the white walls and floor of the kitchen, despite the black sink countertop having absorbed part of it.
After finishing their catching up session and their breakfast, Nia got up from her chair and took the plates and dishes to the sink, taking little time to wash them. When she finished it, she opened one of the square doors beneath the sink and picked another plate from it. She put some fruits from the fruit holder into it and placed it on the table.
Tobias briefly wondered if that was made for the more convenient access of Samir and him, or if it served some decorative purpose.
He watched as Nia picked up the folded scarlet scarf from the table, and pointed to her arm after looking at him. The Charmander huffed with a dumb smile on his face, leaking a bit of smoke from his mouth, and tied the scarf around her arm. Her skin was smooth and soft. It was so different from the blue fluffy arm he was used to, but, in a way, it looked even cuter with the bandana tied around it.
“What would you do without me?” Tobias said in a low voice, yet still loud enough for Nia to hear it. He averted his eyes and tried to hide his blush after hearing her chuckle.
As the Pokémon moved to leave the table, Nia grabbed their attention by tapping a few times on it and returned to writing. Tobias and Samir looked at each other before at her direction as they waited for her to finish her new note.
Do you two remember where you woke up? It could be useful to investigate there. We don't know if we will find any useful information, but right now it's our best shot. It said.
“What do you want to investigate there?” Tobias questioned.
Nia blinked and stood silent for a moment as if an answer was not needed. A troubled expression made it's way to Samir's face. Return? He whistled.
Nia averted her eyes.
The warmth in Tobias’ chest left as quickly as it had come and silence filled the room as the weight of the question sinked in.
Tobias felt a pit open in his stomach as a pained expression formed on his face. He was so happy to have reunited with Nia after so long that he hadn't considered the fact he would have to leave her again. Samir looked down at the table, refusing to lock eyes with either of them.
An eternity lingered in the air, along with the smell of burnt toast and the sweet scent of strawberry, until a rumbling sound coming from Nia's direction broke the heavy mood of the room and startled the three of them.
Nia looked to her pocket and took a rectangular device out of it. Tobias’ face flashed with recognition as he looked at the same device that startled them yesterday. Nia started to tap on it repeatedly.
Although partially relieved for the lifting of the oppressive mood that had been instilled in the room, Tobias looked at Samir with uneasiness. He knew they would have to discuss the painful topic eventually. The Skiddo didn't fare much better, shifting in his cushioned seat uncomfortably. He was probably thinking the same thing, Tobias guessed.
They watched as Nia made an annoyed expression and mumbled something they couldn't understand. She sighed as she stopped messing with the strange rectangle and put it on the table.
“That is the device you used to play that loud sound yesterday wasn't it?” Tobias’ voice cracked slightly. He tried to divert attention from it by clearing his throat and taking a more upright stance on the chair.
“What's up with it and why did you even do that in the first place?” He crossed his arms and shot a light accusatory glance towards Nia in an attempt to mask his former pained expression. Nia didn't seem to notice the intention and returned it with an apologetic look of her own.
She flipped a page of her notepad and picked up her pencil.
We really need to train her Ordiune as soon as possible, Tobias sighed.
He gained a bit more interest when he saw Nia start to draw instead of write. After a few scribbles she showed them a drawing of an explorers badge emitting signals in half circle shaped waves reaching an Abra, and another drawing beneath it of the rectangular device to the right of a human emitting the same signals, reaching a device identical to the first, which is also drawn to the left of a human.
Samir relaxed from his tense posture as he examined the drawing. The momentary distraction burying the previous topic on the back of his mind.
Signal? He questioned. To which Nia answered with a nod.
“So, these are your equivalent to the guild badges? What do they do?”
Nia answered the first question with a nod and the second one with a written note.
We call them cellphones and we use them to communicate to others between long distances. Think of it as an instant mail, both text and voice. It read.
“An instant mail, and for voice too? That's pretty neat.” The overly neutral tone of Tobias’ voice still sounded a bit forced.
Message? You? Samir whistled while motioning his head to Nia's cellphone.
Friend. Message. Worry. She answered in a somewhat broken whistle while writing a more detailed one.
My friend asked why did I suddenly left our group yesterday and why did i not go to class this morning. She asked if she could come check on me. I can't tell her the truth nor can I let her come here, which brings me to my next point.
She flipped the page and continued on another note.
We arranged to meet at a nearby coffee shop. I'll take the opportunity to buy some fruits at the market. Given how, unlike mine, your bodies are only used to organic food. I'm worried you'll get some sort of food poisoning if you eat other types of it. They're not made in the healthiest of ways. Don't worry though, the fruits probably won't harm you.
Tobias’ brow furrowed. He didn't like the sound of that.
What kind of food could be so bad as to naturally cause poisoning? How does one's body even adapt to such a thing? What does she mean probably? The pang of doubt in his thoughts momentarily suppressing any melancholy present in his mind.
If Samir had any concerns he didn't let it show.
I was also thinking of asking her to make new cloaks for you us. She knows some people with the skills to pull this off. I don't expect it to take it long but, given how she is, she might want to rope me into some other hang out stuff too. So, worse case scenario I might be back in the late afternoon.
After that we could spend the rest of the day honing my Ordiune and my whistle language. What do you say?
Tobias didn't know what a class or these lectures were but he didn't find any reason to object.
“Sure.” he shrugged, “Sounds like a plan.”
Samir nodded in agreement.
The three of them left the Kitchen and Nia headed to her bedroom to ready herself while the two Pokémon stopped by the living room to wait.
Tobias made a small jump to reach the top of the sofa and Samir followed him with a small hop.
The first sat resting his face on his hands and his elbows on his crossed legs, while the second laid on his side resting his head on a pink cushion. The Charmander looked down with a frown upon his face.
Samir looked at Tobias with worry written all across his. Now that they were alone in silence, the previous ruminations of Tobias’ mind came back with full force, bringing to the surface all the pent up thoughts and stress of the last weeks with them as well.
The Skiddo was evidently uncomfortable with the lingering silence. Shifting his head slightly from time to time as his eyes darted all over the place.
A bit of time passed before he turned his head to Tobias. He was about to whistle something but a creaking door sound grabbed their attention, alerting them to Nia's return. Her hair was neater and she wore more refined clothes. They couldn't help but stare a bit.
She seemed like she was about to say something, but settled for smiling back at them instead.
Despite her being in a different body, Tobias still recognized that same radiant smile she so often gave him when she was still a Riolu, the smile he treasured so much.
She approached them and suddenly gave a quick kiss on each of their heads, taking both the Charmander and the Skiddo by surprise.
Tobias felt a warm blush in his cheeks, but by the time he composed himself Nia was already by her house's door waving to them as she whistled a quick Bye!
She closed the door, leaving the Pokémon alone in the mostly unfamiliar surroundings of her home. They stared dumbfounded at the recently locked door for some time.
Yet as nice as that kiss was (though Tobias would never admit it openly), the contrasting silence that followed only served to make him feel even worse. He lowered his eyes, staring at his feet. A rather bitter expression took hold of his face. His mind was raging.
Samir readjusted himself on the sofa, loafing on top of it. He still couldn't bring himself to say anything, and for some time, neither could Tobias, until the mounting pressure from the turmoil on his mind finally forced him to vomit out a sentence.
“Is this how she felt?” The words came pained from his mouth.
Samir turned his head towards him, The Skiddo's eyes were more sad than concerned.
“Having your heart cleaved in two by returning home to your loved ones while leaving others you love just as much behind?”
It had only been a few weeks since arriving at the human world, yet Tobias already dearly missed his home. He missed Maggie, Fen and the others at the guild. They must be worried sick for him. He couldn't imagine how distraught Maggie in particular must be feeling right now.
The thought tightened the knot at his throat
He missed the familiarity of Bethoc's Haven and the nature that mixed with it. Being surrounded by constant light, noise and stone, even at night was overwhelming, and not being able to read or understand anything spoken around him was unnerving.
He missed being able to walk freely in the daylight instead of the constant need to hide at all costs. It was suffocating. He couldn't feel safe or relaxed anymore. He was lucky that it was Nia of all people that discovered them, otherwise things could have turned south really fast.
Tobias felt a warm sensation in his eyes. Nia…
It's not fair.
When he somehow got lucky enough to find the one he most loved, when he finally thought some semblance of normalcy would return to his life, he was slapped on the face with the bitter reminder that it's all an illusion, and it stung.
Tobias gasped when he registered something wet running through his cheeks. He had been so enveloped in his thoughts he didn't even realize he was crying. He blinked a few times before resting his back on the sofa's, hugging his knees with his arms while burying his head between them.
He heard the sound of upholstery giving way and felt the small part of the sofa he's in sink slightly when a weight positioned himself beside him. He lifted his head to find Samir sitting near him pressing the front of his head on his arm. Samir lifted his own head to look at him and Tobias was heartbroken by the Skiddo's distraught expression, with as many tears falling from his glassy eyes as those falling from Tobias’.
Tobias enveloped Samir's head in the closest thing to a hug as he can manage and in this manner they spent some moments in their shared desolation.
“We can't lose her again…” Tobias wailed.
He doesn't think he is strong enough to say goodbye a second time.
_______________
The streets were busier than Nia would have liked.
She watched the movement in them through the glass window of the coffee shop she was in. Her face rested on her hand while her elbow sit on the square wooden table in front of her. She rhythmically tapped her left foot on the ground as she awaited her friend in the arranged meeting place. She was late, but just a little.
Ӥ̷̰i̸̞̍ɒ̴͈̅ ! A nearby voice called.
Nia looked to the side to find a red-haired, brown eyed woman walking towards her with a smile on her face. She was slightly taller than Nia and was wearing a blue shirt and gray shorts, a black bracelet on her wrist and her hair tied in a ponytail.
“Sorry for the wait. Have you been here long?”
Nia couldn't help but smile upon seeing her. Helena's presence always managed to put her in a good mood.
“Hey, Helena. It's ok, I only got her a short while ago. How're you doing?”
“That's my line. You're not one to skip class, nor one to suddenly ditch everyone in a group outing. Did something happen?” She said with a mix of concern and curiosity on her voice.
“Oh, it was nothing serious, don't worry.” Nia waved her hand dismissively. “Just some unexpected event that I'm having to take care of, that's all.”
Helena didn't seem convinced. “What's with the non answer? Did you get roped into trouble or something?”
Nia knew she was only half kidding yet was still taken off guard by the question and took a few moments to react.
A smirk formed on Helena's face. “Relax, will ya? I'm just messing with you. No need to tell me if you don't want to. Either way, I'm glad it wasn't anything serious.”
Nia was glad Helena didn't press it further, even if it was obvious she wanted to.
“What about you?” Nia inquired, trying to steer the conversation away to any other topic.
“Sure, you didn't skip most of the morning classes like I did, but you're still losing the rest by being here.”
Helena waved her hands in a way similar to Nia's. “Nothing that a recap with someone else tomorrow can't fix. “Shall we get going?”
Nia nodded and got up from her chair. She followed Helena as she led the way outside the shop into the busy streets.
“So, what are your plans for today?” Helena questioned. She occasionally slowed her pace to take a short glance at the items behind some clothes store's windows.
Nia followed suit. She had to admit some of the clothes were pretty. Checking some of these stores out in the future wasn't a bad idea. Maybe she could find a bandana for herself.
“Nothing extraordinary. Just a short list of things lacking at home that I need to buy. It shouldn't take too long I hope.”
“Time is not an issue for us. We're already skipping class either way, so better take the chance to do something worthwhile.”
They stopped at a crossroad. Helena eyed Nia's arm from time to time as they waited for the traffic light to change. Nia didn't know if Helena was waiting for her to bring it up or if she was actually trying to be subtle. If it was the second option, she was clearly bad at it.
“Anything bothering you?”
“Not really.” Helena analyzed the red cloth. “But what's with the bandana?”
“Oh, that.” Nia almost forgot she was wearing it. “It's not actually mine. My friend lent it to me.”
“It looks good on you. Where did he get it from?”
“I don't know, he never told me.” She looked at the bandana with fondness. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, usually people wear these on their necks, but wearing it on your arm is not a bad choice at all.” Helena looked at her own arm. “I wonder what color would go well on mine.”
“Don't you know some people who work with that sort of thing? You could probably just ask them for one and they would find it for a cheap price or something.”
The two students crossed the street as the cars stopped with the change of the traffic light.
“True.” Helena acknowledged. “I suppose I could even ask them for some customization of my own, it wouldn't even make the price increase that much.”
After making a few turns and crossing a few streets they reached the supermarket. Upon entering it, Nia took a shopping cart and the two of them headed to the fruit aisle. They started picking some fruits of Nia's choice. Some of them looked oddly large for their size, even when comparing them with other large fruits near them. Did that mean more chemicals were used during their cultivation? She didn't know, but she should probably avoid those just to be safe.
“Can you choose some oranges while I look through the grapes?” Nia requested. “Just try to avoid the big ones though, I'd rather have more of the smaller ones instead.” Helena waited for her to elaborate the motive, but relented when no answer came.
“Say, how much would the people you know charge to make some custom cloaks?” Nia inquired.
“Depends on the size and the amount of customization, why do you ask?” Helena took her time choosing the oranges. A lot of them were still partially green, and there were far more big oranges than small ones.
“Well, I need some plain black ones, one child size and one that would fit on me, and I also need one that would fit on a goat…”
Helena looked at her with an incredulous face, and Nia returned her look with a deadpan one.
“You're not taking me seriously at all are you?” She asked with a monotonous tone. She really should have expected a reaction like this.
“Can you blame me?”
Nia handed some bananas she had chosen for Helena to put in the cart. “Look, just help me out this once, alright? I'm asking you precisely because I know how weird this sounds.”
Helena sighed. “Alright, alright. As long as you tell me what they're for.”
That wasn't happening. “I can't right now. How about when I'm done dealing with this stuff?”
“Deal, but I want to hear the story in full.” An excited grin spread through her face.
Nia hoped Helena wouldn't remember this promise by then.
“What other fruits do we need?”
Nia put her hand on her chin as she looked up, trying to remember what fruits would be most like the ones in Bethoc's Haven.
I don't think there were any grapes and banana equivalents. Oranges taste a bit like Oran berries, I think. Apples are the same, so I'll need lots of those. Rawst berries may lean closer to strawberries? It will have to do.
“Uh… Some apples and some strawberries.” She decided.
“Noted.” Helena went on to select the strawberries. Some she softly squished, others she eyed the color. “Since when do you have such a healthy diet? I've never seen you eat so many different fruits before”
“I've been trying new things recently.” Nia lied.
Helena put the selected strawberries on the cart. Six packages with 5 strawberries in each. “Expanding your horizons I see.”
“Better late than never, right?” Nia said as she finished choosing the apples.
“Can't argue with that. Are we missing anything else?”
Nia looked around, hoping she might remember something. When nothing came to mind, she shook her head. “As far as I'm aware we're good to go.”
“To the checkout, then. Let's pray the supermarket queue is short.”
Helena's prayers were not answered.
She sighed as the long line of people ahead of them stays unmoving as if frozen in time.
“And here I was thinking this little shopping trip of ours would be quick.” A deflated expression took form on her face.
Nia smiled and rolled her eyes. “You had to jinx it, didn't you?”
“I guess this is our payback for missing class.” Helena smiled back. “Back to that cloak subject though, the people I know probably have the first two cloaks in store somewhere, but the third one might take longer to deliver. You ok with that?”
“How long are we talking?”
“Less than a week.”
“Fine by me.” Nia shrugged. It would delay the investigation a bit, but they would live.
After waiting some more they finally paid for their groceries, and left the supermarket.
Helena checked her phone and her eyes widened after seeing the hour displayed on the screen.
“How is it 12:10 already? It was barely a while ago since we left the coffee shop!” There was a mix of confusion and annoyance in her voice.
“Shopping does that to people.” Nia pointed out. “It makes it seem like five hours have collapsed into five minutes, and that infinite checkout line didn't help us out either.”
“Well, we are already here, we can take the opportunity to have lunch at my house. It's been a while since I had lunch with someone. What do you say?”
“You really don't need to. I can just drop these by my house and have lunch there instead. I don't want to over impose myself.”
“It's really not an issue. Besides, it's been a while since you went there. We can even take the opportunity to recap what you lost today and study together and review some old stuff before exams come up… please?” Helena's expression had a small amount of despair veiled into it, almost imperceptible. Almost. She really must be struggling to study. So much for a “ nothing recap tomorrow can't fix”.
I suppose I do need to recap what I lost from today's morning class. Nia considered briefly.
“Fine, I'll help you out. But I need to be back home by late afternoon to take care of some stuff, so keep that in mind.”
“Thanks, mystery girl! We should have more than enough time.” Helena smiled with relief as she led the way.
After some more walking and crossing a few more streets they arrived at Helena's house. Upon entering it, Nia put her shopping bags near the door on the marble floor of the living room while Helena locked the door behind her.
Nia sat cross legged on the brown sofa after placing her cellphone on top of it. It was far more comfortable to sit like that without bulky things filling your pockets. The sofa felt soft under her, relaxing even. She hoped this didn't make her doze off while trying to study.
Helena came back with her laptop and some notebooks and sat beside Nia. A reflection on Nia's cellphone catched her eye.
“Why do you have a key inside your cellphone cover?” She asked with a puzzled look after looking at it's transparent cover.
“Oh” Nia had almost forgotten that the key was there. “It's my reserve key for my house in case I lose or forget my wallet”
“Inside your cellphone case?”
“Well, yeah. It's something I keep constantly within my reach, and it's far harder to lose it than a slim wallet.” She took the wallet out of her pocket, as if to make a point. “That way I don't get locked out of home if I lose only one of them since I have a key on each.”
“Alright, if you say so.” Helena said, seeming satisfied with the answer. “Here, I brought some notebooks with notes I took from some topics that I didn't quite understand, can you try to clarify them for me after I catch you up with all you lost today?”
Nia returned her wallet to her pocket. “Sure. How many topics do you want help with?” She asked, eying the many notebooks on Helena's lap.
“Here.” Helena placed the laptop on top of the sofa and opened it's lid. “I made a little list we could go through, from the least hard to the most.”
Nia gave a blank stare at the laptop screen. There were at least a dozen topics written on the notepad app being displayed in front of her. She doubted they would have the time to cover even half of them, given they still needed to lunch first.
It's going to be a long afternoon.
The two students didn't even realize how much time had passed until they looked through the opened window and saw the sun setting on the horizon while the dark of the night slowly started to creep into the sky. A peaceful breeze drifted through the room.
Helena sighed “I love this time of the day. The contrast of the fading light of the sun with the twilight in the sky is relaxing in ways I can't explain.” A childlike smile crossed her face. She looked almost hypnotized at the sky.
“Thanks for the help Ӥ̷̰i̸̞̍ɒ̴͈̅, truly.” She turned towards her study partner. “But I don't want to hold you here more than I need to when you have your own stuff to attend to. Let me just put these away before I unlock the door for you. We should do these study sessions more often though. Studying with someone else is far easier than doing it alone.”
“Sure!” It would not be a bad idea at all, all things considered. “I really enjoyed studying here as well. Your house it's so cozy it makes me want to stay the night here.”
“Hey, who knows? Maybe when you're all done with your secret shenanigans we can set up a day for a little movie marathon or something.”
Nia chuckled as she and Helena got up from the sofa. Helena headed to her bedroom with her laptop and notebooks stacked upon each other while Nia picked up her shopping bags and waited by the door, which Helena opened for her not long after.
Having said their proper goodbyes, Nia headed back home on the increasingly dark streets.
_______________
A noise coming from the inside of the house grabbed Tobias’ attention. He traded a worried look with Samir before leaping from Nia's bed. The Skiddo stood alert and followed cautiously behind him.
Traversing through the hallway that leads to the living room, Tobias leaned his head to the side and peeked from it. His heart stopped for a second when he saw the door opening. A sigh of relief left his mouth when he saw Nia coming through it. It seemed his half hiding attempt didn't work as expected, as Nia was quick to lock eyes with him and greet him with a wave. He guessed his orange scales might have too much contrast in relation to the white wall behind him.
I guess I've grown a bit paranoid these past weeks.
He looked back and nodded to Samir. Both of them relaxed their tense postures and moved to the center of the living room.
After closing the door with her body, Nia turned and looked at them with a smile.
Hi! She whistled.
She placed the shopping bags on the ground near the sofa and locked the door behind her.
Welcome! Samir greeted back.
“Welcome back, Nia.” Tobias said amidst a smile of his own. “How did your hang out go?”
Buy
Food
Delay
Explain
Late. She whistled in sequence before untying the scarf off her harm and handing it to Tobias.
I
Buy
My
Soon. She concluded.
Tobias nodded and fastened the scarf back around his neck.
Nia went to the kitchen and returned with her pencil and notepad while Samir and Tobias accommodated themselves on the sofa. She sat cross-legged between them and started to explain in writing how her hang out went, about the fruits she bought, their possible equivalences in taste to some berries and the recipes that could be made with them; the cloaks and the time they would have to wait for them to arrive; and the invite of her friend that led her to spend the afternoon studying at her house.
Samir and Tobias leaned on each of her sides, bringing their heads slightly forward to read everything as it was being written. The warmth coming from Nia steeped into Tobias, making him relax and lower his guard. He unconsciously let all his weight rest on her side.
It took a while for Nia to finish writing about the events of the day, both due to the length of them, and the lower speed in which she had to write in order to make it legible. When she did, she ripped out the page from the notepad and put it closer to her, not realizing the two Pokémon were already reading it as she was writing. She then started to write on another page of the notepad, which Samir and Tobias again read as she wrote.
I'll go to my room to change clothes and then I'll prepare dinner. Give me your opinions about the fruits after it. If you liked the taste, the texture, everything. I'll keep note of it when deciding which fruits to buy and which not to in the future. Are you ok with training my Ordiune or my whistle language after dinner? I don't think we'll be able to train both today.
“Sure.” Tobias answered. “Shouldn't be much of a problem.”
Fine. Samir whistled.
Nia nodded and stood up from the sofa. She walked towards her room, taking her notepad and her pencil with her. The bedroom's door closed with a loud clicking sound.
Tobias and Samir got down from the sofa and each started examining the different shopping bags and the fruits in it. Even though he had strawberry juice at the morning, Tobias was curious to know how it feels to eat it's originary fruit.
In their distraction, they didn't register the clicking door sounds behind them, partially muffled by the noises of the plastic bags.
The door opened as a voice behind it spoke something unintelligible.
Tobias and Samir looked behind them, letting out a gasp as they locked eyes with a red-haired, brown eyed human holding a cellphone much like Nia's in one of her hands.
Helena was frozen, eyes tripled in size. Tobias was petrified, and his eyes were just as wide.
Something barely above a whisper escaped his mouth.
“Oh no.”
______________________________________________________________
Notes:
Man, coming up with ideas is hard! I had only the scene of Tobias, Samir and Nia in the kitchen having breakfast toghether when i started writing this chapter, and even then it was just a vague image. The part where Nia is shopping and studying with Helena was definetly the hardest, it took me a whole week i think to come up with it and i still ended up rewriting the whole thing twice, it was definetly what took most time to write despite not being the longest.
As always, feel free to leave your own commentary and feedback if you feel inclined to.
I'll probably won't be able to posst a chapter three in a shorter ammount of time since i'll be returning to university soon and I have nowhere near as much ideas as I need for a chapter 3, but this little story is by no means cancelled
Either way, that's one more chapter for you all. I hope you enjoyed it!
May God bless you and Our Lady keep you.
See ya at the next chapter!
Regina Sine Labe Originali Concepta Ora Pro Nobis Regina Mediatrix Omnium Gratiarum Ora Pro Nobis
















