audio, backdated to during the Dragafloat Festival

[telewarped]

[Following a successful but taxing bounty quest, Shoka has been stuck in the Pokéclinic since the 15th—and judging by the way the clinic Pokémon look at her and the way her stupid, freak body keeps telling her it's somehow still on fire, even when it totally isn't, she's going to be stuck there for some time. She can still walk, kind of, and it doesn't hurt all the time, so if anyone were to ask her, she'd tell them that this amount of caution is entirely unnecessary... But no one did ask her.

The Grumpearl message comes in darkness; no visuals or even true audio—just pure thought:]

This bites. I wanna go to the festival!

Maybe I can sneak out...?

[This is almost definitely the Grumpearl version of a butt-dial. In Shoka's case, it's more of a head-dial, considering that her pearl is still stowed away inside the hollow of her disguise's false Pikachu head.]

Comments

[wolfcut]

... Sure. The joys of being me. [ He can only roll his eyes so hard. If this boomer knew modern slang, he would be very upset.

Suddenly, there’s a memory slipping through, entirely lacking in visuals or sound. A strong smell of burning wood, smoky almost; then, the aroma of honey-glazed duck. ]

It was just some little shit who wanted a challenge. [ He pauses, actively trying to remember Firepaw’s name. Despite having heard it in passing at least once, he can only muster Rusty, but for whatever reason, he can't bring himself to say it. So much for being a complete asshole. ]

We never made it to the formalities part of the conversation, as you can imagine. [ Another sip. ] So you planning on defending my honor now or what? I think you could probably take him.

[bladeofnymeia]

I will ask! I've never heard of that before!

[Bubble tea got added after 7.0 so-]

What should I look for?

[telewarped]

Oh! Well, basically it's flavored tea with bubbles in it—uh, tapioca pearls, I mean...

[She thinks really hard about it—until a solid mental image is imprinted in Firoza's mind.]

You've been missing out! It's so good. I used to have it all the time...

[And if there are refreshments from Firoza's world, maybe there's a chance there will be things on offer from her world, too? Or, if not, surely boba tea must exist in someone's world, right...?]

1/2

[telewarped]

[It's hard to tell what that memory even is, exactly, but Bigby's rumination on the little shit's name bring her to a sudden, jarring realization.]

Wait. Firepaw did that to you?

[telewarped]

[At first, she's shocked... but then she can't help being a little amused, too.]

... Oh, wow. You must have seriously pissed him off! Didn't know he even had it in him...

[As for Bigby's question:]

Believe it or not, I've actually tried defending your honor to him before. With my words, y'know, like a big girl. [Although, admittedly, she hadn't tried very hard, because she'd assumed Firepaw just wanted to vent. Now, inwardly (and noticeably through their psychic connection), she regrets not putting more effort into it.] But I guess you might just be an irredeemable mouse-brain in his eyes!

[She's kidding! She's hardly an expert in matters like this... But she wants to fix it, somehow.]

What was it that set him off anyway? [She smelled something cooking, just now...] Did you try taking a finder's fee from him, too?

[bladeofnymeia]

[ooooooooo]

That looks...unlike anything I have seen before.

[But there's an excitement to that statement, the sense of, if I had a dog's tail, perhaps, I'd most certainly be wagging it.]

I shall let you know when I am on my way.

[With that, there's radio silence for a little while - every ten minutes, Shoka will get a "not yet" or "still looking", and it's getting close to an hour before-]

I think this is it!!!

[And she focuses very hard on what she's looking at so Shoka might get an image of it in her mind - not with the branding of course, but it looks close!]

There is also a matcha kind offered, which - which is better for you? I'll try it, too!

[telewarped]

[That's just as well, because when Shoka tries to reemerge to see what is even going on up there, the combination of that movement and the laugh she has to have at Siffrin's expense immediately exact a karmic toll on her. As fiery pain sweeps through her, her form destabilizes, jittering at the edges like a computer glitch until the shadows all but spit her back out, leaving her crumpled on the cot before Siffrin.]

Pfft—hehagh—! [She has to take a moment, then, to lie there and wait for the shadows that make up her form to stop twitching and settle back into their usual shape.] Ugh...

[As the pain ebbs away into a negligible ache, she titters.]

Maybe not... Guess Don-bozo didn't mess you up that bad, then.

[It's definitely bad, but at least Siffrin's not on death's door!]

Oh well. Probably wouldn't've been able to make it that far like this, anyway... [Shadow Sneak's range is short even at the best of times, after all. She draws herself back upright.] So let's hear your bright idea.

[wolfcut]

Really? His name is Firepaw? [ As if Big B. Wolf has room to talk. Or is it just Mouse-Brain now? ] But, great! Glad to hear that one is catching on!

[ He's clearly frustrated, but trying his best to reel it in. No need to take it out on Shoka, especially after hearing that she talked to the cat in question already. That and besides, it's easy for him to internalize that feeling of regret. Despite still having a few more choice words, he'll leave them buried for now, for her sake. ]

... Please. I'll tell you what I told him — I didn't want his damn scraps. [ His voice is more even-tempered despite just how offended he sounds about that. For some guy from New York, he's taking it oddly personal that a cat thinks he can't get his own food. ] Maybe he's still pissed he can't eat me. I don't fucking know how cats work.

me, desperately trying to come up with the most slapstick thing I can think of

[loopsiedaisy]

[Siffrin watches Shoka with a touch of worry, shuffling a little closer. There's not really a lot they can do here, and they've seen this before - they're not gonna annoy her by constantly asking if she's okay - but it still doesn't look pleasant! Once she mostly stabilizes, they stick out their tongue in response to her laughter.]

[Okay, let's see... they're on the third floor of five up here, aren't they? Which is part of what makes sneaking out tricky. They have to make it to the stairs on this floor and then to the exit on the first, and there's a lot of clinic Pokemon in the way.]

I was thinking... we fold up some pillowcases into something that looks like you. [Or her disguise, she knows what they mean!] And we stick it on one of those unused carts out in the hallway and send it rolling.

Then when everyone's chasing that, we sneak downstairs.

...or if still looks too busy, we tie together some sheets and go out the window.

[There's one flaw in this brilliant plan (besides, you know, all the other flaws, like how climbing down a rope is hard when you're this injured). While the sheets and pillowcases are off-white enough that they look almost right to Sif, they are absolutely not the same color as Shoka's disguise. But, on the other hand... how closely will anyone be looking when something's whizzing past on top of a cart?]

[telewarped]

Sure is, Big Bad Wolf. [There's a snicker, then a wince.] Believe me, I know it's weird. Honestly, I kinda thought he came up with that name himself after he showed up here, since he's a fire-breathing cat and all... But apparently not.

[When they first met, she even asked him outright, Have you thought about asking for a name that's a little less stupid? Looking back on it, she's surprised that she didn't wind up in the same situation Bigby is in now.]

That's his name—the one he earned as a warrior living in the forest. Not the name his owners gave him before he turned wild. He's kinda sensitive about that one, so... Maybe that's what did it, if you called him that.

[But Bigby apparently couldn't bring himself to say it to her now, even if the name Rusty was definitely floating around in his thoughts. That and his obvious frustration lead her to comment:]

Whatever it was... You're kinda torn up about this, aren't you? And not just literally.