The Heights of Londo [IC 4: Turnabout Trainers]

[Comissar]

Leah's quiet for a few moments, contemplating whether or not to take the woman up on her offer. Her mind helpfully provides images of arguments with Rana and Sass, as well as Misru's frequently cold indifference. Pulling her knees closer to her chest, she asks, "... C-can, uh, c-can you tell me how, uh, how to stop my friends from hating me..?"

[Hazuki]

"It's often the way; those adventuring long for simplicity, those at home crave excitement. If you'd like a simple day, you could arrange one. I could tell you where we get our bread and jam from," Torchwood says with a smile. "Is a day like that something your girlfriend would enjoy?"

~

The woman tilts her head at Leah and lets out a long thinking noise. "There are...problems with those questions. It's difficult, like untangling twine; the thread you're picking at might not be the one that's causing the knots. But I'll give it a go." She holds her fingers out, cracking her joints, and holds a hand up to Leah's head. "The girl in green...is locked in her head, bars and walls that keep others out, or her inside. She carries an invisible companion; in that way, and another. Better bonds require not kindness, but a kindred spirit. a shared suffering. Until then, there will always be something in the way."

"The girl who bolts in blue..." The woman's brow furrows in concentration. "She's adrift, a half-dozen floats around her but none that fit the right way. She flees the waves by throwing herself into others, no matter the hurts, for the control, for the power. Her heart craves an embrace of everything, whether it hurts or shocks. No hand on the shoulder will do, unless the other seizes the same reins."

"the little one, ah the young..." The woman chuckles. "She craves a heart that burns the same as hers, fears the ones that swim, or fly, or dance together. She remembers the pain of losing blood to one, for others, her mind cannot wrap around the thought. Proof of a bond that cannot be broken, sharing your fire, both of these can stop hers from burning those who stand too close."

The woman draws her hand back and tucks it into her pocket. "The fault does not always lie with the one who takes the blow. You are not bound to these people unless you choose to wear the shackles. And your want is not just yours; there are those who would be your friend because they want to, because you are worth the effort. Do not take their burdens upon your shoulders; sometimes they needs must carry their own, and then, they will come back to you."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shrugs. "Um, I dunno. I could always ask her." She smiles. "I, um, I think it might be good for her, though."

[Hazuki]

"Then it sounds like something worth pursuing, it sounds like that to me," Torchwood replies. "But you're not here for dating advice. Would you like to move on to discussing your phobia? Oh, I do happen to have a friendly Dark Pokemon available - not in this room, I assure you - should you wish a little exposure at some point in the future."

[Comissar]

Leah finds herself uncertain of what to feel as she listens to the woman's explanation of how her friends and acquaintances were feeling. She rubs at her arm, feeling an uncomfortable twisting in her chest as she does. Her gaze falls to the ground in front of her as the woman absolves her of the guilt she was feeling, "I, uh, I didn't, uh, didn't realise Misru was, uh, was feeling isolated..."

She lets out a sigh, looking up to the woman again, "I, uh, I want to try and help them... I-I want to be a-a good friend..." She rubs behind her neck as she thinks, "U-umm, do, uh, do you think if, uh, if I got Sass... U-umm, my, uh, my younger friend, that is... If I got her involved in, uh, in something I'm passionate about..? Would, uh, would that help her..? She, uh, she always seems very single minded..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shudders a bit and shakes her head. "U-um, no, I, um, don't think I'm ready for that yet." She shakes her head again, closing her eyes tightly. "I'm working on it, but, um, not yet." Opening her eyes, she looks back at Torchwood. "But, um, talking is good. I can do talking."

[Hazuki]

"That is what your fortune tells," the woman replies, "So probably, yes. Just make certain it's not something boring to everyone. She craves passion, not sock-collecting. And if you can tie it back to her passion, why, that would probably be super effective"

~

"Then talk we shall. Since you've come back so soon, is there anything in particular, a certain thing related to Dark Pokemon, you'd like to discuss?" Torchwood asks.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods. "Yeah, um. I have, um, thought about what happened a bit. And, um, how exactly I became this afraid. I told you about how it st-started, right?" She gestures a bit with her hands then shakes her head. "I mean, um, with my brother."

[Comissar]

Leah prickles a little at having her own passion be called 'sock collecting', but she keeps that irritation to herself. Instead she nods again, having an idea of how to tie her own passions into Sass' desire to battle and train. "O-ok, I think I, uh, I know what I need to do..." She looks to the woman, "U-umm, thankyou for, uh, for stopping to talk to, uh, to me." She feels her cheeks redden as she has a realisation, "A-ah, umm, I'm sorry, I, uh, I never asked your, uh, your name."

[Hazuki]

Torchwood nods once. "You did, you did indeed. It's good that you're able to pinpoint where your fear started; it will help you overcome it more easily as e work through this. What particular thoughts are you having about how it happened?"

~

"There are some who calls me... The Ghost of Diwyneb," The woman says, waving her fingers in a spooky way. "On request, at least, it would help me get more customers if I did become known for that. But if you don't want to, that's fine as well. You can just call me Shay and I'll be fine with that."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa takes a deep breath. "I, um, I think my fear is, um, from the pain of that time. And, um, from the fact that it came from my brother. Like I was hurt by him, and so, um, part of me is afraid of him. And what he does. But, um, I still care about him too?" She wrings her hands a bit, keeping her gaze down as she speaks. "And, um, being away from him, I realize that I miss him. And the fear is still there, from when he did something wrong, but a part of me knows he didn't mean to." Shaking her head, she sighs. "It's still hard to, um, clearly remember that day. Like, I know what happened but I have to keep away from it?" She looks up at Torchwood. "Does that make sense?"

[Hazuki]

"It does, it does." Torchwood nods. "Memories can be deceptive at the best of times, the details shifting ever so slightly each time you remember them, and this is only made more intense when they're painful, or scary. Have you spoken with anyone who was there that day about what you remember, your brother included? Have you ever, perhaps, attempted to depict it in your art or a journal? These things can help clarify one's image of a situation, examine it from an outsider's perspective, though you needn't worry if you haven't or don't want to; painful memories have a very apt name."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa thinks a moment, then shakes her head. "I, um, don't think I've talked with anyone about exactly what happened." She takes a moment. "I, um, I really didn't want to talk about it with him. And, um, I don't think he felt like he could talk to me about it." Leaning over a bit, Alyssa puts her head in her hands, then leans back up. "M-maybe you're right. M-maybe I do have to put it into art. I, um, I haven't really done much art with that much pain in it." She nods her head. "I...I think it's a good idea."

[Comissar]

Leah gives a short laugh as Shay expresses her desire for her alter-ego to become widely known. "I-I'll, uh, I'll be sure to tell people that's, uh, that's what you want to be called." She brushes her hair away from her face, tucking the strands behind her ear, "U-umm, thanks... For, uh, for checking on me and, uh, and offering advice. U-umm, how, uh, how much did you want..?"

[Hazuki]

"I'm glad." Torchwood bobs her head. "If you're worried about how it might go, make certain you have someone you trust with you, something comforting, a reminder that what you're creating is just a painting. You're welcome to do so here, even,"

~

"Oh, no thanks, but I will take your coin. Let's say...enough for a meal. Plucking it from your head, that's...four hundred of your dollars?" Shay suggests.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods. "Yeah, um, I think I might like that. But, um, not today. I'm not really feeling paintery today." She runs a hand through her hair. "I, um, I might have to build up to it a bit."

[Comissar]

Leah nods, reaching for her coin purse as she counts out the requested amount. Handing it over, she pushes herself to her feet once the money has been taken. "I, uh, I think I ought to head back. Umm, my, uh, my girlfriend," She reddens a little at referring to Alyssa in that way, "will, uh, will be worried about me. I, uh, I hope the rest of your day is a, uh, a pleasant one." She bows her head to Shay in gratitude one last time before turning to head back to the Inn.

[Hazuki]

"That's fine. Now..." The rest of Alyssa's session continues along the same vein, with Torchwood helpfully reminding her of a few tactics should she encounter Dark Pokemon and methods of calming down.

~

"And you, yours, thank you for the business." With that, Shay likewise departs and Leah is free to return to the inn, where she finds that a sleepy Saua wakes up and greets her with a concerned cry as she waddles over, a vine reaching up to tentatively touch her leg. Maggie, meanwhile, has built herself a pillow fort.

Alyssa returns to the inn room just after Leah.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa opens the door and stops when she sees Leah. "Um, hi." She gives a small wave with one hand, not smiling but not being fully open. "How...I mean, um, are you...Do you want to talk, or...?" Her gaze naturally turns to Maggie's pillow fort, which she avoids commenting on for the moment.

[Comissar]

Leah breaks into an apologetic smile as Saura comes over to check on her. She kneels down, reaching out to scritch at the side of Saura's head, "Sorry, I wasn't meaning to worry you. Thankyou for watching out for me."

She looks up, twisting round a little as Alyssa pauses at the doorway. She feels her heart sink in her chest a little, "H-hey. I'm, uh, I-I'm doing better." She shuffles a little, turning to face Alyssa more properly from her kneeling position, "U-umm... I-I, uh... I-I'm sorry." Leah rubs behind her neck, "I, uh, I-I shouldn't have, uh, have pushed you a-away how I, uh, how I did."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa nods, her wrist held in her other hand. "It's okay. I mean, it hurt at the time but I understand that's what you needed." She looks at Leah, meeting her eyes with a strained smile. "You're important to me, and I care about how you're doing and I want to help."

[Comissar]

The sinking in Leah's chest turns to an outright pit at Alyssa's comment. She finds she can't match Alyssa's gaze for long, instead dropping her eyes to her knees. Her words fail her as she tries to work out what to say, and she ends up sitting silently for a few moments. "..."

Leah closes her eyes, letting out an uncomfortable sigh. "Th-that's, u-uh... Th-that's kind o-of you to, uh, t-to say..." She rubs behind her neck, opening her eyes again, "U-umm... I-I, uh... I-I, uh, want to try a-and, uh, a-and help too. But, uh, but i-it doesn't feel, uh, feel right to a-ask for help when, u-uh, when y-you're trying t-to, uh, t-to work on y-yourself a-at the same time..."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head. "We're all working on ourselves, all the time. Sometimes it's your time, sometimes it's my time. As long as we share I'll be okay. I want to help you when you need it and you can help me when I need it. Seems right to me." She smiles at Leah, a reassuring smile. "And it's okay to need time on your own."

[Comissar]

Leah nods a couple of times, "O-ok... Y-yeah, ok..." She returns Alyssa's smile with a weaker one, giving Saura a final scritch behind her neck as she stands. "U-umm, I'm, uh, I'm sorry a-again for hurting you..." She hugs at her own waist, arms wrapped in front of her, "U-umm... Did, uh, did your session go ok..?"

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head. "It's okay. I'm okay now if you're okay. And if not I hope I can help you be more okay." She stands up with Leah. "My therapy went okay. It's always a bit hard, and I have more work to do, but I feel like I'm getting better." Noting Leah's body language, she puts out a hand.

[Comissar]

Leah smiles a little more confidently, "I'm, uh, I'm glad you feel like, uh, like you're improving." She reaches out to take Alyssa's hand, giving it a small squeeze. She's quiet a few moments, not sure how to bridge from one topic to another, eventually deciding to just be direct, "I, uh, I think I know how to, uh, to fix things with Sass. U-umm, I'm, uh, I'm gonna give her some time to, uh, to cool off, then try and, uh, and speak with her again. A, uh, a lady gave me some, uh, some pretty good advice."

[tgva8889]

Alyssa smiles as Leah takes her hand. Returning her squeeze, she nods along with Leah's words. "I'm really happy you found a good way to fix things. Do you want me to do anything to help, or, um, keep out of it?" She looks up at Leah and tilts her head a bit in ask.

[Comissar]

Leah rubs behind her neck, shifting slightly back from an Alyssa and giving her an embarrassed look, "U-umm, if, uh, i-if you don't mind it, uh, i-it might be easier if I handle, uh, handle it myself..?" She gives Alyssa's hand a quick squeeze, "I, uh, I don't want you to, uh, to feel like I'm cutting you out, though..?"

[Hazuki]

The girls notice Maggie poking her head out of her pillow fort to glance between them.

[tgva8889]

Alyssa shakes her head, but smiles. "It's okay. I understand." She looks at Leah for a minute, then looks down at their hands and squeezes back. "I trust you."

She laughs at Maggie popping out of the pillow fort. "How're you doing in there, Maggie? Staying safe in your pile of pillows?"