[FIN] Awkward

[BlackFireKitsune]

The middle of the day found Seraphine inside a cafe, leaning back in a booth with her feet resting on the bench opposite her, her hand around a mug of coffee while her gaze drifted around to nothing in particular. Occasionally she'd zone out completely and not look at anything, but movement nearby or a slight increase in the overall volume of the people nearby would draw her out of her reverie soon enough, and make her go back to her idle staring. It wasn't much to do, but it was better than sitting around at home all day, that much was for certain.

Near her coffee mug sat an almost empty plate that had remains of what was probably an early dinner for her, with a smaller plate next to it that contained a few biscuits, fruits, and berries, some of which were partially eaten. The culprit for the latter was curled up beside her on the booth, her bright blue eyes on the various people milling about and whatever small pokemon happened to be out with them. Occasionally Anastasia would shift a little to reposition herself - this booth wasn't one of the most comfortable ones, but that was all right - before settling back down to people- and pokemon-watching, while Sera occasionally sipped at her coffee.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Another brunette entered the cafe with a Leafeon at her side, getting into line immediately as if she already knew what she wanted. The grass-type, however, spied something - or, rather, someone - else and gave a small bark in greeting. It was Anastasia, and her human girl, Sera! He hadn't seen them in ages!  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Anastasia watched the new arrivals with about the same level of interest, which piqued when she realized how familiar they looked. The Leafeon found her familiar as well, she noticed, when he greeted her. Happa! She perked up quite a bit, her ears sticking up more as she returned his greeting with her own eager bark. When was the last time she had seen him? Too long ago, certainly. She was tempted to jump out of the booth to go greet him more directly, but hesitated for a few moments and decided against it. That would mean leaving Sera's side, and that was something she didn't like to do ever, if she could help it, and so she merely wriggled a little in place, hoping they would come closer instead.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Happa wasn't sure how to react. On one hand, Anastasia seemed to recognize and respond to him, so that was a good thing. On the other, she seemed hesitant to move. Was it something he'd done or said? Glancing up at his own trainer, Happa pawed at Clara's pant leg. She had seemed too eager trying to decide on what to get to eat to notice her pokemon's excitement.

"Huh? What is it, boy?" The brunette asked, looking down at the tug on her clothing. Following the Leafeon's gaze to a unique, pink-accented Umbreon and said Umbreon's trainer, Clara did a double-take. "Oh. Um...sure, go ahead." The happy grass-type gave a delighted little yip and all but skipped toward the booth at which Anastasia was at. He put his paws up on the seat, bearing most of his weight on his back legs as his tail swished behind him in anticipation.

With a quick look at the line ahead of and behind her, the trainer stepped out of the queue. Food and drink could wait. Shoving her hands in her pockets, Clara took a deep breath and followed after her pokemon to the booth. "Hello, Sera," she said gently. "It's been a while."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Oh, oh! He was coming over! Anastasia eagerly moved closer to the end of the bench, happy both that she had the good fortune to see Happa today and that he was able to come over, because she really was averse to leaving her trainer's side. She said happily, her ears still perked up as her tail swished a little behind her, occasionally tapping the side of Sera's leg.

Seraphine couldn't exactly ignore her own pokemon's quiet barks to another, and as her gaze shifted over to find the other pokemon, she had to do a double-take to recognize that that was Akira - except it wasn't Akira, he looked like a girl again. She really didn't know what to think of him anymore, and a vaguely bewildered look crossed her face as the familiar person approached and spoke. "Hi," she replied carefully, looking him over a little. This was... really weird. "Yeah, it has." Briefly she debated asking him something, but decided against it - at least for now.  

[Akira Midoriyama]

the Leafeon answered, ears up and focused on the Umbreon. His brown eyes flickered uneasily toward Sera. He seemed to sense some tension in the air as his ears lowered a little and his tail stopped swaying.

Clara - or Akira - meanwhile, was having her own trouble with words. She opened her mouth to speak, but only one word came out. "How..." To ask or not to ask? Was it Clara's business? It didn't seem to be Akira's. "How are things? Um...have you been helping Rosie and Luke with their wedding plans?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

the dark-type replied, her bright blue eyes widening a bit. She knew that her own trainer had spent a lot of time with a woman named Ray, but she hadn't been present for most of it. she finished a little awkwardly, her ears tilting back a little. She glanced between both trainers for a brief moment, sensing the unease between them - or at least from her own trainer - before frowning a little. It was rather hard to tell with Sera sometimes.

"Uhh..." Well that was certainly a loaded question, indeed. "Not... really? And things have been all right, I guess," she finished a little uncertainly, trying to think of what exactly to say. All of the recent happenings hadn't happened to her, and so she didn't bother to recount them. It wasn't any of her business, anyway. "How about you..?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Happa concluded, thinking. Tilting his head, he blinked. he repeated curiously. He looked at the green-eyed girl with some concern.

"Oh, right, I guess that's something they'd be doing on their own," she murmured sheepishly. She'd thought maybe focusing on some subject other than Sera would put the young woman at ease, but, as usual, it seemed Clara was not as skilled with words as she'd hoped. "Just...training somewhat," she said, glancing at the tabletop and then the window outside - anywhere but directly at Sera.

"It's been slow going, but I think it might be starting to pay off a little." She tried to smile. "I'm surprised to see you out on your own. With just your pokemon, I mean. Doing anything special?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Anya nodded again, She didn't really know what conclusion he came to about 'before' - briefly she flicked her ears back, not wanting to think about the before she was actually thinking about - but he didn't ask, and so she let the matter drop entirely without comment. Instead, she glanced back at the brunette. Or a lot, actually, but she didn't really feel inclined to go into detail. Instead, she shifted her gaze up to Happa's trainer.

Something they'd be doing on their own, yes - before Luke lost all his memories, anyway, but that didn't need to be said. Instead, she nodded a little, though wasn't sure what to say really. "Well, that's good," she said a little awkwardly, focusing her gaze elsewhere as she raised her mug to her lips for a small sip. "Training takes a while before you get good at it." Once she put it back down, she idly ran her thumb along the side of it as she tried to think of something - anything - to say. Nothing really came to mind, though Akira's comment confused her a little. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be out on my own..?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Happa's ears lowered sadly. Following Anya's gaze to Clara, he blinked. Taking his paws off the booth seat, he sat back on his haunches and watched the pair of humans interact.

"Yeah...I think I'm learning that the hard way," Clara chuckled, almost reaching up a hand to tug at her bangs, but managing to resist the urge. She clenched and unclenched her fist at her side instead. "Oh, uh...I guess I just thought you might be having fun with a friend or something." She anxiously rubbed her other arm. "Um...do you...have a problem with me, Sera?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

she explained partially, her ears laying back down at such depressing thoughts. Whenever Sera did talk to her about it, it didn't really ever make her feel better - or at least, it didn't that Anastasia could tell. Once more she glanced between the two trainers, unsure what to really do or think about them. She knew Sera wasn't nervous, but that was about it. Rather than focus on something she couldn't figure out, as that would only distress her, she scooted closer to the edge as he left it, curling her paws over the edge and daintily setting her head atop them, her ears perking up a little more. She'd watched them come in, and so she knew that they hadn't gotten anything to eat or drink yet, which lead her to believe he must be hungry to some degree.

"That sounds familiar," Sera commented with some bitter amusement. That was pretty much how she'd learned everything her entire life. She shook her head though; no, she wasn't having fun with a friend or anything. And seriously, why would he think that? She was sitting here obviously - at least, obvious to her - completely alone, minus Anastasia, so why would he think anyone else was there?

His final question, though, elicited a lengthy, silent pause from the brunette as she narrowed her eyes a little in thought. "I'm not quite sure," she said at last, leaning her head back a little and still frowning. "The biggest problem I have is that I don't know who this 'me' is that you're talking about."  

[Akira Midoriyama]

the grass-type remarked. At home (usually indoors for most humans) and at night sounded like lonely settings to him, in any case.

Smiling a little at Anastasia's offer, the Leafeon's ears perked up again slightly.

Clara - Akira - blinked once after Sera's response before closing his eyes and exhaling deeply. "Does it...really matter? I don't really act all that different, do I?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Anastasia nodded sadly. At least the girl had her pokemon - specifically Anya herself - and so that wasn't that bad. The Umbreon knew that even if Sera had human companions with her during those times, she likely wouldn't confide in them - indeed, she would probably try her best to avoid the feelings altogether until she was alone once again.

the dark-type said with a nod, her mood brightening a little as she stood up to study her small plate briefly. How to get it down... Well, this would be a little difficult... She was fairly certain that if she tried to hold the plate in her mouth, she'd either drop it, or fumble it and everything would fall off anyway... Perhaps it would be best to get one item at a time? With that thought in mind, she carefully picked up a biscuit in her mouth, trying to hold onto just a little bit of the end of it, then lowered herself back down to her belly and leaned over the edge a little so Happa could take it.

"It does," she replied levelly, similarly exhaling to try and reduce her annoyance before it could build, "and... you do. Or you did - which is what's so vexing. I don't really..." How best to try and explain it... She didn't understand him at all, but wanted to at least try and convey that confusion so that he could understand. An idea struck her suddenly, and she tilted her head to one side a little as she asked, "How about I tell you a story?"  

[Akira Midoriyama]

Happa asked gingerly, though he was beginning to wonder if he was starting to get into territory that wasn't his business. he said, reaching up to accept the biscuit. Wow, why did this feel like some cheesy romance scene from a movie? Akira must have left one on one night, because the Leafeon was sorely reminded of two pokemon sharing a plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

The young lady - man - seemed perplexed as he listened to Sera, brows furrowed. He wanted to understand, he really did, but since when had that ever been his strong suit? "I like stories," he said. "Mind if I sit?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

the dark-type said once Happa had taken the biscuit from her. The actions didn't remind her of anything, probably because Sera didn't watch cheesy romance movies. she finished uncertainly, her ears laying back against her head as she tried to figure it out. Sera had certainly been acting that way when Anastasia had been restored to her, and she got the impression from her teammates that that had become quite common behavior for the girl, though she had no idea when it had started - certainly not before she'd been stolen, and so must have happened in the year she'd been gone.

Sera removed her hand from her coffee mug so she could wave it at the booth opposite her - and she even graciously moved her feet over a couple inches to make more room for him. "Sure, go ahead." Now, where to start, where to start...

"Well, once upon a time I met this guy who was kinda cute and really fun to tease. We started hanging out every so often and I started thinking of him as a friend - he had always been pretty nice, even if he wasn't always the most tactful person or said the wrong things a lot - until one day he told me that wasn't who he was at all, he'd only been acting that way, that wasn't who he really was. I didn't know what to think of that - apart from dislike it, because that's how pretty much everyone I knew in high school was - and so he started, supposedly, acting more like himself, and he actually seemed like what he really was was a huge, pushy a*****e," she said, aiming a rather pointed, displeased smile at him - not without some level of disappointment, too. "So then I started questioning why he had been pretending that whole time and why he had been such a jerk, or if we were even friends anymore or anything, and then it was just awkward... Until one day I saw him dressed up and acting like a girl - so this one person I thought was one person suddenly said he was a different person, but then he went around like another different person - that's pretty much like he's three different people, and I don't know which one is really him and which two are what he's pretending to be. It's kind of like I don't know anything about him now because I don't know who he is anymore - is he the person I thought he was when we met? Is he the person he told me he was? Is he the person - the girl - I saw him pretending to be? Or is he someone completely different - some fourth person?" She asked, raising her hand in an exasperated gesture and trying to keep her voice level. The whole thing really was very frustrating - not to mention mildly distressing - and she didn't like it at all. "Does that make sense?"