grapecape | Voicemail/Appointments

I haven't the faintest. Rocket, likely.

[Felix tugs on Raven's sleeve. Take off the jacket or pull your arm out or something, he's nowhere near done.]

[She's especially careful with taking off her coat. It looks...practically unsalvageable. Raven winces again, at the loss of something that tied her to home. As if she hadn't lost enough already.]

Them again. Did you see the market? [She was in it, but can hardly remember exactly what she saw. Ondorus limped in here, though, and it finally hit her that he must have gotten involved somehow.]

[Ondorus is thinking the same thing, as he eyes the coat. He's glad he'd been wearing his winter outfit and not his cape from home. He could always patch it up, but...hm. Maybe he should try to fix up Raven's jacket.]

I passed through it. Gunther and I ran into the Salamence, closer to the Pokemon Center.

[Felix goes about slathering her arm in wipes, antibacterial cream, and band-aids.]

[Salamence evokes the image of that particular giant and Raven inhales, shuddering. With any luck (which she never does have) they'll think it was from being put back together instead. When she collects herself again, Raven swallows hard.]

That's where my monsters are.

[His assumptions were right on the money, then.

The reaction doesn't go unnoticed, though Ondorus doesn't say anything about it. He just nods.]

Then they're going to be alright.

I couldn't help them. ...They won't want to come back.

[And thus will Raven lose yet another round of friends, all at once. She twitches away from a well-meaning Audino hand trying to clean her face.]

What if they're not?

Raven, they're not just your combat partners. Melody and Crimsone and the others - they're your friends. They won't discard you over something like this. I know you wouldn't.

[Felix goes for her face again, undeterred. He is an Audino on a mission.]

[At least it's a worthwhile mission. She won't pull away a second time.

Staring down at her hands again seems like the best thing to do. She hasn't been able to look Ondorus in the eye since that first moment. It takes a very long look for her to realize the truth about how shaky she is; both hands close into loose fists almost immediately after.

Maybe they are her friends. She tried to treat them like friends. Then she put them in real danger without thinking of how bad it might be.

The circle of beating herself up about it, of feeling undeserving of even these kindnesses here, is just going to continue. Raven knows that and she doesn't know how to stop it. Doesn't particularly want to.]

But I couldn't help them. [When she tried, nothing happened, and suddenly she was both powerless and no longer quite herself.]

You kept Melody safe from that blizzard, didn't you? Sometimes things happen that are out of your control, and that's no one's fault.

[He should get her some hot chocolate or tea or something. Raven looks like she could use something warm...getting up right now wouldn't help anything, though.

You don't under-

[Stop. He does understand, doesn't he? Kind of, right, because he-

When she looks up, quickly enough to make her own head spin a little, she looks right past the concerned face and glasses at the spot where his horn used to be.

He probably does, indeed, understand. This is not the way she would have wanted this to ever come up. With anyone. Maybe in this one case, though, it wouldn't be...terrible.]

I'm human too.

[For the first few seconds after Raven says that, the meaning of it soars happily over Ondorus' head. He looks puzzled. Then the puzzled expression changes to one of thought, then of realization.

Oh. Oh.

It makes sense now - Ondorus remembers very clearly the sense of clumsy uselessness at not being able to do so much as start a fire, the frustration at standing back while Olivia tussled with a Sentret. Dwarves didn't tend to take to magic, but maybe...or maybe even...

...no, that was reaching. It would answer some questions, but...

It doesn't matter. Whatever it is exactly that Raven's lost, it's scared her.]

...As are we all.

[He gets it.

Felix gives Raven another light arm squeeze.]

I wanted to help them. [But she couldn't transform, not even a little bit. Not one single feather.] I shouldn't have tried to fight but we were trapped.

[Some part of her knows he probably hasn't guessed. Raven doesn't count explaining herself in words as a strong point.]

You did the best that you could. [Even if he wasn't there to see what happened, Ondorus can say that much with confidence. It's clear just how much Raven cares about her own little cadre of monsters.] Don't blame yourself.

[A quick headshake.]

They deserve somebody better.

[She regrets that right away, and it shows, but she can't take it back. She just isn't herself right now; it took her this long to notice that Felix hugged her again.]

But it's you they want. Melody truly cares about you, Raven. That's more important than who is or isn't the strongest.

Sorry.

[The word and a sigh happen at the same time, making her sound as breathless as she feels. Whether Felix is finished or not, she looks at him and brushes a hand over his head again. Helpful and sort of meddlesome just like his trainer, isn't he?]

[Just as purple, too.]

There's nothing you need to be sorry for.

...I'll be right back.

[He rises to go to the kitchen, and Sanja floats over to Raven to keep her company.]

[While he's gone, Raven will reluctantly show Felix some of her other injuries, at least so her friendly helper can clean them up a bit. When he comes back he might find her there with her head leaned against a floating sleepy monster like a pillow - if Sanja allows that kind of thing.]

[She does. She encourages it. It takes a quick, exasperated look from Ondorus as he comes back into the room for her to stop considering munching on Raven's dreams if she happens to nod off.

He sets a small mug of hot cocoa on the coffee table in front of Raven and returns to his seat.]

[She's just drained. Hearing something hit the table, she sits up to look at it.

Hot chocolate? A glance between the mug and Ondorus, then back again.]

A lot of people and monsters were hurt today. [And she takes a sip, carefully. It's not bad.] Are...is there still going to be that meeting?

I don't know. Saber will let us know tomorrow, either way. [The Center staff was prepared already, of course. It would come down to the extent of the damage and just who was injured - this city was more than large enough to function even with many of its inhabitants injured.

...strange as that was.]

[All she can do is nod. There were already so many people flitting around, she wanted to keep to her room. Now she had an excuse - the kind she would never go looking for. Raven takes a long shaky breath, and another sip of cocoa.]

Okay. ...I'm...sorry for this. [She is really trying to get it back together but the worry for her pokémon is ever-present.]

[He shakes his head.]

I'd be frightened too. When I said you have nothing to be sorry for, Raven, I truly meant it.

I'm not afraid. [Yes she is. Of course she is. These are the people who she was so raring to go up against not too long ago, who have bird pokémon as prisoners and-

She swallows hard.] Can I have...some ice?

[Raven there's nothing wrong with-]

Of course. [Ondorus gets up and goes into the kitchen again. He comes back with a small bowl of ice - and some napkins, just in case. Something he'd forgotten about with the hot cocoa.]

Voicemail/Appointments

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]

[Action, Feb. 14]