The Heights of Londo [IC 4: Turnabout Trainers]

[Hazuki]

"I don't know what she has. She talks a bunch if you let her," Sass answers, as she turns to gaze at the trees that surround them. She doesn't seem to be having luck finding other things...if that is indeed her goal.

[Comissar]

"Well, uh, the planter's small enough to, uh, to carry, so I don't think I could, uh, could get too many plants in there." She catches Sass' gaze at the canopy, "Are, uh, are you looking for something specific..?"

[Hazuki]

"I don't know. Stuff?" Sass shrugs. "We should head back soon, right? I wanna introduce Nika to my new Pokemon."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods. "Oh, um, yeah. And I have my, um, thing to go to." She looks at Leah and then distracts herself by minding to Athe and checking to make sure Maggie hasn't wandered off too far. "Um, is it this way?"

[Hazuki]

Both Maggie and Saura stand nearby, both as at the ready as Sass to head back.

[Comissar]

Leah nods with a smile, "Yup, I'm about ready if you guys are."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods. "Okay, let's go!" She walks up beside Leah and smiles at her.

[Hazuki]

The girls' wilderness adventure begins to end as they make their way back to Diwyneb proper, with noon fast approaching and the air having cooled down enough that they're not quite as uncomfortable as they had been. Maggie and Saura are both on their best behavior as they stroll through the shady woods, but do seem relieved as soon as its walls are in sight.

"Hey. C'mon. Get in the ball," Sass urges the Misdreavus in her shadow, which does, reluctantly, concede to the request. The girls make it through the town gates and are spared most of the crowds due to most folks heading to lunch, or else already in the market that's a little further in passed the entrance. Before they can say much, though, Sass yells. "Hey!" She points a finger across the entrance and, following its point, the girls spot Nika tucked in the shadow of a corner of their inn. She's standing with another familiar girl, the nurse they saw her set up a date with. "Nika! What did I tell you about doing kissing?!" The girl barks, as she marches over and Nika and the nurse both look at her with wide eyes.

"Alyssa?" Another voice calls out at the same time, one much more familiar to Alyssa. Its source seems to be the front door of the inn her and Alyssa are staying at - it's Utha! She's dressed just as well as when she last saw her, though her sling-supported arm implies she's still quite injured. Her good hand raises for a little wave.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa's face turns to one of concern when Sass walks over to Nika but she is quickly distracted by Utha. Turning in the direction of her reply, she waves back. "Oh, hi Utha! Are you staying here too?" She smiles. Athe, still on her shoulder, regards Utha for a moment, then looks at Leah.

[Comissar]

Leah finds herself beginning to flag on the walk back. The heat of the morning had sapped a lot of her strength and, while the temperature was now far more manageable, the walk had in turn taken a lot out of her. When Sass runs off ahead, loudly proclaiming her distaste of Nika's displays of affection, Leah finds herself wincing inwardly. Giving Alyssa a look of resignation, she comments, "I'll, uh, I'll be right back..." before hurrying after the headstrong Sass.

Drawing closer, she puts a hand on Sass' shoulder, "Sass, come on, they just, uh, just want some time to themselves."

[Hazuki]

"I'm not, no." Utha peers over Alyssa's shoulder as Leah hurries after Sass, then smiles at her. "I came here in search of you. I was just about ready to resign myself to disappointment. But here you are, as lovely as ever."

"Uh, yeah. Totally." Nika nods as Leah attempts to calm Sass, whose shoulders feel rather tense. "It's all fine here, Sass."

"Yeah? We've got stuff to do! How are you gonna travel with me and make Pokeballs and stuff if you're busy doing kissing?" Sass points at the Nurse. "Are you gonna carry her with us? I bet she doesn't even know what a Pokemon is!"

The Nurse seems to make a decision to stay quiet.

[Comissar]

Leah gives Sass an exasperated look, "Sass... It's really not, uh, not up to you what Nika does with her time." She tries to gently pull the young trainer away, "Come on, let's, uh, let's grab something to eat and leave them alone..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods as Leah heads after Sass, her attention a bit occupied by Utha's comment. She finds her face turning a bit red at her comment. Her eyes drift a bit over to where Leah and Sass and Nika are as she speaks. "Um, yeah, here I am. We were, um, looking for a Pokemon in the woods? Which I guess we found." She rubs her arm and turns her gaze back up to Utha. "Wait, you were looking for me?"

Athe watches Leah following Sass, keeping track of what's going on over there while turning to Alyssa every so often. Noticing some escalation, he turns to Alyssa's head and nuzzles her a bit with his beak, which leads to her absently ruffling his feathers.

[Hazuki]

Sass scowls at the two girls, resists Leah's tug, then seems to make the decision to turn herself around and begins stomping in Alyssa's direction.

"That's lovely to hear, and, yes, I was. I thought we might be able to spend some time together, since you're in town and I'm, well, quite bored," Utha explains, smiling.

[Comissar]

Leah gives an exasperated "Sass!" as the young girl pulls away from her. She turns and gives Nika and the nurse an apologetic head bob, "I-I'm sorry for, uh, for the interruption." More specifically to Nika, she adds, "I'll, uh, I'll try and calm her down..."

Turning away from the quite possibly now soured date, Leah moves to catch up with Sass. This time refraining from grabbing her, she finds herself having to move almost at a trot to keep up, "Sass, come on. Nika's still your friend! She just has, uh, things she wants to do, too..."

[Hazuki]

"I mean, hey, it's not your fault," Nika says as Leah goes to hurry after Sass. The Nurse just smiles politely.

"No! She can do stuff she wants to, just not that!" Sass snaps, still waling. "We've got to leave Diwyneb when I beat the Lady! There's no time for doing kissing!"

[Comissar]

Leah speeds up her pace, swinging around to try and get in front of Sass, "S-Sass, y-you... Y-you can't stop someone from wanting t-to be with someone else! I-It's not your call!"

[Hazuki]

"Yes I can!" Sass stops walking, but firmly stands her ground and locks eyes with Leah. "Nika said she'd travel with me. So she's gotta leave one of us behind. And I'm way better than doing kissing. Can kissing train Pokemon? No! I can!"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles cordially. "Yeah, um, I think we could sometime maybe? I have some things I gotta do-" She cuts herself short as Sass starts heading in her direction, and turns to look at Leah as Sass comes over. Her attention is pulled over to the two of them arguing, and not really sure how to help, backs away a bit. Quietly, she says "Sorry you were brought into this Utha. I, um, didn't know this would happen."

[Comissar]

"That's..." Leah shakes her head, running a hand through her hair, "S-Sass, you'll, uh, you'll lose her as a friend i-if you try and control what she does. I-If you want her to come, yelling at her w-will only make her upset." She starts fidgeting with her bag strap, "I-If you r-really want her to, uh, to come with you, y-you have to, uh, to talk with her, a-and b-be prepared for a-a no."

[Hazuki]

"It's no trouble," Utha replies, glancing at the miniature commotion taking place not far from the front of the inn. "Is this a friend of yours or...have you decided to adopt?" she asks, with a little laugh.

"What would you know?" Sass asks, narrowing her eyes at Leah. "You do kissing, too. With Alyssa. Your head's all muddled up."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs. "She's a friend, but I'm not sure about adopting." Hearing her name, she looks over at Sass, feeling a bit of a grip on her pulling at her chest as she listens. She tries to listen in case she thinks stepping in would help, but Sass calling her out makes her think twice about replying. To Utha, she gives a weak smile. "Do you not have anything to do during the day? It seems like your life should be more exciting than seeing me."

[Hazuki]

A frown flickers across Utha's face, but quickly clears. "I would normally be training with my Pokemon, but, as you can see..." She gestures at her arm in a sling. "It has rather put a halt to...my plans and...actually." She raises a finger. "I have just remembered something I ought to attend to. May I be excused?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa puts a hand to her mouth and bows quickly. "Oh, sorry, of course." She seems surprised at Utha's comment but nods. "Um, yeah. D'you wanna try to meet up later then?"

[Comissar]

Leah feels a sinking sensation in her chest as Sass dismisses her advice out of hand. "... Y-you d-don't have to, uh, t-to listen to, uh, to me e-either, Sass. Th-that's y-your chouse. B-but, uh, but I, uh, I think you'll push N-Nika away i-if you try and, uh, a-and control what she does."

[Hazuki]

"Um. That's alright." Utha bows her head and quickly makes her exit.

"Fine then! I'll find a new, better friend who won't do any kissing and she can stay here doing that!" Sass declares, jabbing a finger in the general direction they came from. "She can stay away from me, forever!"

[Comissar]

Leah finds herself taken aback at Sass' blasé statement. She takes a half step away from her, shaking her head slightly as she does. "I-i-if..." She pauses, closing her eyes and swallowing the knot in her throat before continuing, "I-if that's y-your decision, th-then y-you're not, u-uh, y-you're n-not the f-friend you think y-you are..."

[Hazuki]

"Me?!" Sass stamps her foot. "I'm not the one abandoning her friend! So shut your stupid dumb face up, okay?!" With that said, she turns on her heel, and starts marching off down the street.

[Comissar]

Leah opens her mouth to retort, but finds the words catching in her throat. She takes a half step after Sass as the young trainer storms away, then stops. Her hands rise to clutch tightly at her bag strap and, wordlessly, she turns to walk in the opposite direction from Sass. After a short distance, she becomes aware of a wetness on her cheeks. Wiping away the tears with the back of her hand, she feels like she wants to just yell in frustration. Picking paths at random, her pace gradually picks up from a walk to a near jog as she moves, until finally she stops and slumps down with her back to a wall. Hugging her legs to her chest, she buries her face in her knees and tries to will herself away from her surroundings.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Leah's not going so fast that she can't be followed, but she has been thrown off pretty badly by the argument with Sass. She's extrapolating and catastrophising that Sass now hates her thanks to their argument, and that she's all but alone out and away from home. If Alyssa/Saura/someone else is following her or trying to call out to her, she'd be wrapped up enough in her head that she probably wouldn't register them properly until she stopped.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa turns to stop Utha, but Sass's outburst distracts her. Before she can turn back to Utha she is gone, and Alyssa turns her attention to Leah and Sass just as Sass is stomping off. Hestiating for a moment in the shock of the moment, Alyssa fails to reach out before Leah runs off. Shaking her head to clear the doubt, she chases, trying to keep up with Leah until she finally sits down.

Not really sure what to do at first, Alyssa takes a moment before she slowly walks to up Leah and sits down next to her. She doesn't do anything at first, but if Leah makes any motion that it's okay she'll pull her into a hug or otherwise embrace her.