Tall Tale

“Erm, It might not be my business but… It looks like your uh, pet is..” She drifted off, staring over at the strange creature as he barged into someone’s window. 

“Sorry about that.... Kiddo’s real daring sometimes, ya know? Doesn’t get when he’s going too far.”

That’s utterly amazing

“We were just hangin’ out in there, me an’ her an’ some others, when she suddenly started freaking out. Next thing we know, we’re all running outta there while she blows the place up.”

“Wonder what set that scary lady off that bad..” 

“What set her off? Hmmm... I dunno!” Marshall shrugged his shoulders after a hum in thought. “She just suddenly started freakin’ out like she was seeing something we couldn’t. It was like she saw a ghost.”

"The other party’s going to be a disaster," she muttered under her breath before smiling at Marshall. "You managed to get her to faint? Really?” And, if her judgment was correct, Naoto was one of the sturdiest members of the SPF, too. She whistled, impressed. “I take it you managed to find her fatal flaw? That’s sure something else.”

"Yep~ It was great. I'm amazed she fell for it so easily." Snickering, he leaned back against the wall and took a sip of his coffee. He probably shouldn't be so proud, but it was really amusing. "Y'know those posts from the Occult Club? I had Hansel make an illusion of that 'slit-faced woman'. Scared her so bad, she hit the ground."

"Marshall? What are you doing here?" It wasn’t that Sena wasn’t glad to see him, but rather she was surprised to. She opened the window and let him in, taking one of the mugs from him. His presence was a nice distraction from the party-goers with spiked punch on their breaths, and the coffee was a plus. "Is there something you want to talk about? Or just here for a visit?"

"I noticed someone missin' from the crowd and thought I'd take the party to you." Of course, coffee and a chat wasn't much of a party, but it was more tame. With one hand free now, Marshall climbed in through the window, moving carefully so as to avoid spilling his own coffee. "Guess I didn't have much in mind- 'though you should hear about the scare I gave that SPF girl. It was great. She fainted."

"By beauty standards, yes, you would be considered quite beautiful" no, why did that feel wrong?

"Even like this?"

She does her best to imitate him when it becomes her turn to try, but even though she steps lightly, the metal imitation claws on the toes of her shoes dig into the ground, and so, give a light scraping sound.

"That's a good first try." He gave a grin and patted the girl's head, a friendly sign to reassure her she hadn't entirely messed up. "Next time, lose the shoes, but I think your sneak might be worn out from followin' me around. Take a break, alright?"

"Six Pokemon, each with their own abilities, plus us and maybe a few other allies along the way. This could work." Of course, that was if their combined powers could possibly outweigh that of whatever was causing the island to be so…weird. “And gathering intel shouldn’t be too hard, not with a charismatic gentleman like you and a charming young lady such as myself.” Needless to say, one of her abilities was getting people to talk; political power or no, she was going to get to the bottom of the island with a few carefully placed words.

"Charmin' gentleman? Well, aren't you sweet?" Sena, please. He's anything but a gentleman. The thought was amusing enough in itself, and he gave a little laugh before proceeding. "Of course, we're just tryin' to find out why we're brought here and by what right now. I wonder what sort of thing might draw 'em out of hiding? Hmm~" He hummed in thought, leaning back in his seat again. The amusement that played on his expression was actually genuine. "I dunno what we're dealin' with, but so far, I like this place."

"Can do? Would like learn that very much!"

"Your turn."

However, his other words intrigued her. “Eats nightmares?” She frowned a bit. “You have nightmares often, then?” It wasn’t any of her business, but it was hard to understand how somebody who seemed so light-hearted could be plagued by nightmares. No, it wasn’t hard to understand, but rather it was hard to read exactly how deep his smile actually was. “And you said the others. How many of these Pokemon do you have?”

"Six, exactly." He pulled the remaining pokeballs from his pockets and showed them to her. He'd let them all out right now, but, well, it might get a little crowded in this room if everyone joined the party at once. "Elsie, Alice, Peter, Jack, Hansel, and Gretle." Not so much of a subtle naming scheme there. His fairy tale obsession runs deep.