The Heights of Londo [IC 4: Turnabout Trainers]

[Hazuki]

"Um... Okay," Sass says. "My back's pretty sore and some dinner would be nice."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks up. "Is it dinner time already?" Looking down at her work, she shrugs. "I, um, guess we could go get food now if it's that late. I got caught up in all the art I guess." She cleans off her brush in the water and turns to get up, smiling toward Leah a bit of a half-smile.

[Comissar]

Leah blinks, then giggles, "Well, I was more meaning help with studying when you go back to it, but I guess I can try helping with food."

[Hazuki]

"Mm, okay," Sass says. "Nika, rub my back!"

"Huh?" Nika looks away from the sarashi-painting she'd been admiring and at the prone trainer. "I did it yesterday already!"

"But yesterday isn't today!"

"So?" Nika folds her arms over her chest.

"So my back hurts!"

"But your back can't hurt from reading!" Nika says. "Or training Pokemon; I don't even know why you try to build up your muscles when they won't help you train better."

"Because! I'm! Tough!"

"Yeah?" Nika exhales. "Yeah, well..." She marches up to Sass, then sits on her back. Sass immediately starts scrambling to get away. "Not so tough now, huh?"

"I... Will... Destroy you!" Sass barks at the other girl, as she grabs a pillow from the top of the bed and tries to hit Nika with it. This proves rather difficult, considering she can't bend her arms very far backwards.

[Comissar]

Watching the devolving situation, Leah breaks into another fit of giggles. "Well, while Sass is recovering, and you two are painting, shall I, uh, shall I go get some food for us all..?" She glances between the other three, "Have you got any special preferences..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa's gaze turns to Sass and Nika, her hand covering her mouth to try and hide her giggles. When Leah suggests going on her own, Alyssa looks to her and tilts her head. "I can go with you. Gotta take a break!" She stretches a bit, pulling her arms behind her back and groaning a bit. "I feel like taking a bit of a walk, too."

[Hazuki]

A knuckle sandwich for Nika!" Sass yells out, as she tries her best to buck the other girl off of her.

"I like sweet berries!" Nika announces, as she's suddenly shunted off and falls on the bed beside Sass, who immediately throws herself over the other girl's torso to pin her in place.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa jumps back a bit as the two start to get a bit more rough, and she laughs a bit more fully. "Okay, don't kill each other before we come back!" She gets up from her seat and goes over to Leah. "You ready? I can take one of those two if you'd like." She motions to Maggie and the egg.

[Comissar]

Leah nods her agreement to Nika's request, a grin on her lips at the continued rough housing. She nods again at Alyssa's question, offering Maggie out to her before strapping the egg into its new heated bag and making for the door. Once outside, she glances around to confirm the direction they needed to go, then looks to Alyssa with a smile, "Think we'll come back to an intact room..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa picks up Maggie, taking a moment to make sure she has a good grip on her before they head out. She laughs and shakes her head at Leah. "I don't think so." Giggling, she holds out a hand for Leah as they head off to find someplace to get food. Glancing back at her, she smiles. "You okay with the egg?"

[Comissar]

Taking Alyssa's hand, Leah returned her smile and nodded, "Yeah. Umm, I'm pretty sure Maggie prefers to, uh, to be with you."

She's quiet for a while as they walk, content to simply enjoy the journey. She does eventually break the silence, though, as she asks "Do you, uh, do you think the inn they're staying at would mind if we put something together in the room..? Maybe we should try and get something pre-made..?"

[Hazuki]

Maggie wraps her arms around Alyssa's neck to help with supporting her, letting out a little happy cry as she's transferred.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shifts to hold Maggie, looking at her with a smile. She keeps her eyes out for someplace to get some food that will satisfy both her desire for spicy food and Nika's request for sweet berries. When Leah makes some suggestions, she shakes her head. "I think we should get something, um, pre-made. I don't wanna make food around all the paints and white clothes."

[Comissar]

Leah nods her agreement, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Turning her attention back to the market, she starts looking through the different options on display. After a moment, her face lights up, "Oh! I bet we could find some food from outside Londo in the foreign quarter..! Want to try something new..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa looks at Leah when she poses her question and nods. "Yeah, um, sure! Maybe something from where you're from? Do you have anything spicy?"

[Comissar]

Leah grins, "They might have Shichimi! Oh, or Tantanmen! Those are both kind've spicy. And if Nika likes sweet stuff maybe, uh, maybe she'd like some Daifuku too!"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but let's go find some."

[Hazuki]

The girls and Maggie make their way back to the foreign quarter. The day seems to be winding down around them, as the streets are a little less full and those who are wandering are clearly walking with purpose. They find a small to-go restuarant with a sign that reads "Authentic Kanto Food", manned by an obviously Kantoan woman woman with her pink hair tied back in low pigtails. She's clad in a very Kantoan outfit, with Kanto characters all over her t-shirt and a jacket that, for some reason, has various glowing bands all over it.

"Konnichiwa!" The girl bows to the two as they walk in. "Gomenasai for visiting Authentic Kanto Food! My name is Nya-chan! So kawaii!" She throws up a peace sign, and this is when she spots Leah and a blush comes to her cheeks. "Um." She giggles nervously. "I mean, hello, everyone. How are you? What would you like to eat?" She grabs a notepad and her pen hovers over it with just a little tremor.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa walks close to Leah, keeping Maggie comfortable with her other hand. When they find the restaurant, she gives a look around the place, bowing slightly at the woman. She has to be careful to not make Maggie fall too much when she bends, and comes up quickly to keep her in place. When the host's demeanor changes, she gives Leah a look and smiles. "Um, d'you wanna order? You know the food better than me." Her eyes shift back to the host and she gives a genuine smile. "Is that, um, how you greet people in Kanto, or is that just, um, what you want people to think?"

[Comissar]

Leah gives a bemused look to the vendor at her initial introduction, finding herself feeling almost a little embarrassed at the over-the-topness of it all. When the vendor catches her look, she trades a nervous smile with her, then looks to Alyssa briefly. "Uh, sure." Looking back to the woman, she asks, "I, uh, I wanted to, uh, to show my friends some Kantoan food... Um..." She spends a moment rubbing behind her neck as she tries to decide what might be best, "Can you make Tantanmen..? Or, uh, or Okonomiyaki? And, uh, and do you have any Daifuku..?"

[Hazuki]

Nya-chan stares at Alyssa with her last question. "To be honest, I'm feeling kind of attacked right now?" Then she looks to Leah.

"Do we have all the best Kanto stuff, she asks! Duh, of course we do! If it's from Kanto, you can to-tally trust us to have it! Prices are up there." She flicks her finger at several wooden boards that have been hung up above the counter. "And there!" She points at a stack of menus that are, apparently, free to take. They seem reasonably priced, as far as Leah can tell.

"Alyssa?" A soft voice comes from one of the chairs opposite the counter. The person sitting there is clad in a maroon robe, flowers patterned onto it with silver thread, that gracefully wraps around her body. One of her arms is in a medical sling, held across her chest. Her un-slinged arm is wearing a lacy fingerless glove, one that disappears along with her arm up the baggy sleeve of her robe. She pulls down her hood to reveal an angular face, lightly accentuated with burgundy makeup that compliments her dark skin. "It is you," she says, as a wide smile covers her lips. She bows low, making her bouncy burgundy locks sway.. "My name is Utha. We met in Lancer Town, at sunset in traveling woman's gallery."

Spoiler: Alyssa

Show

Alyssa recognizes her as the warrior she met in Lancer Town, who was originally from Diwnybe. She has an Espurr who doesn't like Alyssa much.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa bows and shakes her head. "Sorry, I, um, was just curious!" As Leah takes a look at the menu, Alyssa stays back, not sure what to look for.

She thus has space to turn to Utha as she calls her name. Taking a moment, Alyssa smiles. "Oh, um, right! Hi, Utha. What are you doing here?" As soon as she says that, she shakes her head and puts a hand to her forehead. "Oh, um, you're from here aren't you?" Recovering, she smiles and waves. "I, um, guess I should ask, um, did you find what you were looking for in Lancer?" After waiting a moment for her to respond, Alyssa looks down at Maggie and then quickly back up and laughs. "Oh! Um, this is Maggie. Maggie, this is Utha. We, um, met in Lancer Town when I was studying to be an artist." She holds her free arm out as if to invite Maggie and Utha together, her other arm cradling Maggie as she hands on.

[Hazuki]

Utha smiles at Alyssa's initial confusion and nods at her conclusion.

"Yes. I found a sponsor. They purchased all of these lovely clothes for me," Utha says, as she adjusts her robe. "And equipment too, of course. But..." She glances at her sling-clad arm. "I shan't be wearing any of that for a little while."

Maggie tilts her head curiously at Utha, then bows to her. Utha bows back.

"I see you're a Psychic type, Maggie. I hope you don't go around playing naughty tricks on people."

Maggie puts both of her hands on her hips and lets out a little cry. Utha giggles.

"You're right; that's terribly rude of me to say on our first meeting. I apologize."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods, pointing at Utha's arm. "What happened?" She looks at the sling, trying to get a sense of what might have happened to her arm without Utha telling her. "I, um, hope it wasn't anything too dangerous?"

She giggles at Maggie and Utha's interaction, smiling at Utha. "Glad you two get along. Hey, um, didn't you have a Psychic-type as your partner?" She looks around quickly, her eyes darting into the shadows. "I, um, remember it did play a lot of tricks."

[Hazuki]

"It was the Diwyneb Dusk. My first time in there and I got injured in the first few minutes," Utha explains with a smile that's only slightly forced. "Everything's fine, fortunately. My sponsor understood."

"She's resting," Utha answers. "Since I can't train, she decided to train extra hard. The poor thing is completely exhausted, so I'm picking some treats up for us." She gestures at the counter where Nya-chan and Leah are. "Is that your friend, over there?"

[Comissar]

Leah gives a bit of a blank look, then a small laugh as 'Nya-Chan' comments on feeling attacked. "Sorry, umm, it's been a while since I talked to someone else from Kanto. It's funny hearing those kind of phrases again."

She smiles more broadly as she looks over the proffered menu, "I've not had some of this in years... I almost want to have some of everything..." She spends a few moments longer scanning her options, caught between a mix of nostalgia and hunger. Realising how quiet she was being, she looks up to the vendor, "Umm, what, uh, what part of Kanto did you come from..? And when did you come over, if, uh, if you don't mind me asking?"

[Hazuki]

Nya-chan occupies herself with looking at her nails while Leah reads, then perks up when she's addressed.

"Huh, me? I'm from Lavender Town. Y'know, the place that was spooky until it wasn't and they put a radio tower in? I used to have sooo much fun hanging around outside the Pokemon Tower and spooking tourists." Nya-chan sighs. "But nobody's scared of radios, so I'm a model now! Or, I was. Then they discovered this Londo place and that's, like, I want to go see the spooky people! It's kind of familiar and nice, you know? But, I gotta admit, I kind of hoped i'd be somewhere other than a takeaway restaurant." She sticks her tongue out and droops her head. "Like a lady's maiden, just hanging around court all day and looking pretty? But Lady Diwyneb doesn't do that kind of thing, and, like, Skybloom doesn't like foreigners much for now? So I'm stuck here until they can appreciate how Kanto-cute I am!"

[Comissar]

Leah nods at Nya-Chan's explanation of where she was from, finding herself looking a bit sheepish at her description of her mischievous behaviour in Lavender town. "I mean... I, uh, I always found Lavender town to be kind've, uh, kind've creepy..."

She looks a little surprised as she carries on, "You, uh, you really want to just spend all day hanging around..? That, uh, that seems like it'd get dull." A look of embarrassment crosses her face as she continues, "Also, is, uh, is 'Kanto Cute' a thing..?"

[Hazuki]

"I wouldn't just hang around. I'd get new outfits, and new styles, and meet new people..." Nya-chan lists off the benefits with a finger raised for each point. "If Kanto-cute isn't a thing, it should be. I'm cute, and I'm from Kanto, so it makes sense, right?" she asks, as she leans across the counter and flutters her eyelashes and tilts her head in ways that do, indeed, accentuate her cuteness. "This face is Kanto-cute, riiiight~?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods and breathes a small sigh of relief before Utha asks about Leah. Looking over, Alyssa turns a bit red and nods. "Yeah, um, we met when I was working in Bastille Town and, um, we've been traveling together." She shakes her head a bit and turns back to Utha. "Sorry to, um, hear about the Dusk. Do you, um, think you're gonna try the Dusk again when your arm is better?"

Looking over at Leah interaction with Nya-chan, Alyssa looks up at the menu. "Utha, d'you, um, have anything in particular I should get here? I've never had this kind of food before."